The Queen of the Reach
by PryndL
Summary: After the Markarth Incident in 4E 176, the Reachmen were ousted from the city. Many were killed, others fled to the hills, a few emigrated from the Reach entirely. In year 201, a woman named Vidyan Birene decided that it was time to come home, to return to the Reach, just to find herself unwelcome. She takes on the role of Dragonborn in the hope of reclaiming her ancestral land.
1. The City of Stone

01 - The City of Stone

Following the Markarth Incident, the natives were ousted from the city. With a taste of freedom, many of them rejected their Nord rulers. These Reachmen forswore these invaders and fled to the hills. Others had grown weary from the unending war and simply accepted their subjugation. A small few fled the Reach entirely, such as the shaman, Kyrie, who immigrated to High Rock with her granddaughter, Vidyan.

The fates of Vidyan's parents are unknown, but her grandmother did her best to make a good life for them among the Bretons. Her grandmother taught her the ancient traditions of her people as well as the basics of their hedge magicks. The art of hunting introduced Vidyan to the primal lifestyle of her ancestors. Her life in the province was peaceful, especially since she preferred the silence of nature to the company of others.

Even still, most of her knowledge was purely academic, especially since daedric worship was outlawed in nearly all of Tamriel. Unable to truly practice her cultural traditions, Vidyan adopted the fashions and behaviors of her Breton neighbors. Shortly after her twenty-sixth birthday, her grandmother died and Vidyan decided that it was time to reintegrate into her culture.

Using the last of her wealth, she chartered passage to the capital of Skyrim and planned to travel into the Reach on foot. Vidyan spent a few days in Solitude working on the nearby farm of Katla's Steading just a couple miles from the city. She earned a few silver septims each day for her efforts. Near the end, she purchased a small collection of food and began her travel south.

She spent the next night in the town of Dragon Bridge in the southern reaches of Haafingar Hold. Although the hold has a southern border with the Reach, the road out of town leads east across the Karth River and into Hjaalmarch. Without a direct path into her ancestral homeland, Vidyan felt the need to ask the locals for directions.

The townsfolk pointed her towards a Redguard farmer on the outskirts of town by the name of Azzada Lylvieve. He was a young, married man with two adorable children. Based on the way he spoke of the town, Azzada seemed to enjoy the small-town feeling of Dragon Bridge. With a bit of prying, remarked on his time spent in Markarth.

"I grew up as an orphan on the streets of Markarth. I'd have died there too, if not for the kindness of an adventurer. He rescued me, gave me enough money to get out of the city. I followed the Karth River north and came here."

He mentioned a few nearby encampments of Forsworn in the area but warned against going near them. Curious about the name, Vidyan learned about how the native Reachmen had adopted the term Forsworn to describe the nature of their existence. With this knowledge in hand, she began her trek into the hills and valleys that make up the Reach. She followed Azzada's path and made her way north around the waterfalls.

Before long, she found herself at a location known as Bruca's Leap. It was a natural cave with many primitive fortifications built around it. She recognized these stylings as the work of her people. Without fear, she strode into the Forsworn encampment to find that she was not welcome there. The natives attacked without provocation and spoke in a dialect she had trouble discerning.

It was all that she could do to escape the camp alive. The Forsworn chased her over a mile from Bruca's Leap and she only lost them by diving into a nearby stream. This was nowhere near her expectation. She knew that the Reachmen were a warmongering people, but she expected knowledge of their tongue would dispel any violent response.

Somewhat discouraged, Vidyan searched out other encampments as she traveled farther south. Azzada did not mention many of these locations, but she could tell their cultural connections by the decorations displayed. However, not a single encampment enjoyed her presence. She was instead chased away and only found refuge in the stone city of Markarth – the capital of the Reach.

The city of Markarth was a strange place. Unlike many other settlements, this city was built by the ancient Dwemer – the deep elves. As thus, the buildings were all carved out of the mountains with intricate stonework. This strangeness extends even to the citizens of Markarth, who speak in a stilted and unnatural manner. Nobody seemed willing to even speak about the natives living in the area – and fervently denied that any lived within the city walls.

Preferring to stay in the safety of the Nord settlements, Vidyan worked in the small farming village to the east. She earned more farming near Solitude than she did in the Reach, even though the ground was obviously more fertile here. Every evening, she made her way to the city in an attempt to glean more from its large population.

No matter who she spoke with, nor the topic she brought up, the people kept conversation brief and refused to talk about anything but their trade. This silence was broken on the evening of the fourth day, when a woman was attacked in the marketplace. A man seemed anxious while speaking with Hogni the butcher, when he suddenly ran towards an Imperial woman perusing the jewelry merchant.

"The Reach belongs to the Forsworn!" the man yelled.

He withdrew a concealed dagger and stabbed the woman in the back. As the woman collapsed to the ground, the man turned and began attacking the guards with fire magic. As the violence raged on, Vidyan ran to the woman seemingly to offer comfort, though she was more interested in why the woman was attacked.

The woman spoke little but gave her name as Margret. With her final breaths she gave Vidyan a cryptic warning: "Seek out Thonar… The Silver-Blood family is behind this attack. Somehow…"

"Everyone, stay back!" barks one of the guards. "The Markarth city guard have this all under control. There are no Forsworn in the city."

As Margret died in her arms, Vidyan saw that the guards had already neutralized her attacker. Immediately, she began searching the dead woman's body for clues or any items of interest. As one of the guards moved closer, Vidyan quickly stood up and mumbled something about being an apothecary.

To her relief, the guard did not seem to notice as she lifted a key off the woman's body. Keeping a calm face, Vidyan began walking away, curious what this key unlocks. A short distance away, she was stopped by a man with auburn hair.

"Gods! A woman attacked, right on the streets," exclaimed the man. "Are you alright? Did you see what happened?"

"A man was shouting about the Forsworn, that was it," replied Vidyan.

"Forsworn, here in the city? Unbelievable… Oh, I think you dropped this. Some kind of note, looks important."

With that the man handed a slip of paper to Vidyan and walked away. Bewildered, she walked towards the Silver-Blood Inn. As the violent moment passed, the citizens quickly carried on with their normal activities. By the time that she had returned to the inn, no one was talking about the attack. In fact, it was as if nothing unusual had happened.

Shaking her head, Vidyan took a look at the note that the man had handed her. There was but one hastily scribbled line on the page. _Meet me at the Shrine of Talos, tonight_. Seeing how people reacted to the murder, she knew to keep this quiet, tossing the page into the fireplace.

Slowly, the sun hid behind the mountains as she drank her earnings away. After waiting a little longer, Vidyan stood up and asked the Nord barkeep in a quiet manner about a shrine of Talos. The man denied the shrine's existence but mentioned a nearby alley on an upper level. Thanking the man for his help, Vidyan left the inn. Although she knew little about the city, she eventually found the alley, and the Shrine of Talos.

The shrine was located in a small alleyway adjacent to yet another alley. Yet with all the lit candles scattered around, the space was far brighter than many of the darkened streets. The first thing Vidyan noticed was the full-sized statue of the forbidden god – Talos. The mere sight of that statue repulsed her.

During the Second Era, the King of Falkreath aided General Talos in a campaign to unify the various estates of Colovia. The first stage of this conquest was focused on the subjugation of her people – the Reachmen. They were a unified people at the time, but then came General Talos who shattered their defense and branded them primitive savages. As this campaign continued, General Talos rose to a god-like status and was revered as the god of mankind. To her, Talos represented the death of her people's independence.

Tearing her attention from the statue, she looked around the room. It was not long before she noticed the form of the man with auburn hair. He was shrouded in the shadows, leaning against one of the pillars encircling the statue.

"I'm sorry to drag you into Markarth's problems, but after that attack in the market… I'm simply running out of time. You're an outsider, you're dangerous looking. You'll do."

"I'm not doing anything yet," replied Vidyan.

"You want answers? Well, so do I! So does everyone in this city," the man exclaims. His tone quickly becomes somber when he continues. "A man goes crazy in the market. Everyone knows he is a Forsworn agent. The guards do nothing – nothing but clean up the mess."

"And you think that I will help you find out why?"

"This has been going on for years, and all that I have been able to find is murder and blood. I need help and I watched you during the attack. You're just as interested as I am. I will pay you if you find out anything about Weylin and the Forsworn."

"What do you know about the woman, Margret?" asked Vidyan. "She mentioned that I should be wary of the Silver-Bloods."

"Did she? Well, she's not from Markarth," he replied. "The air about her screamed outsider. As you know, visitors usually stay at the Silver-Blood Inn."

"And Weylin? He was her attacker?"

"He was one of the smelter workers. I used to have a job down there myself, casting silver ingots. I never knew much about him, except he lives in the Warrens like all the other workers."

Vidyan released a pained sigh before replying: "Alright, fine. It was my intention to look into the matter anyway. At the very least, you know more about the inner workings of this city. As long as you prove yourself helpful, I will report my findings back to you."

This whole exchange weirded her out, but Vidyan was glad to find at least one citizen willing to help her. She knew that sneaking off to the shrine of the forbidden god was going to attract attention, but it would attract less than talking about their investigation in a crowded tavern. The thought did not make her any less repulsed.

Vidyan returned to the Silver-Blood Inn, certain she knew what Margret's key unlocked. Only one question, which room was hers? Ignoring discretion, she walked straight up the barkeep and simply asked about Margret. The man was unwilling to answer any questions but did confirm that she had been staying at the inn. Brushing past him, she went to talk with the other patrons.

With some work, she learned that Margret was staying in the largest room, on the east end of the inn. With this information, Vidyan walked ahead and unlocked the door with the key. Slipping inside, she searched the room and found the woman's journal. Skimming through it, her writing illustrated the woman's role as an Imperial spy tasked with buying or stealing the deed to Cidhna Mine.

_"General Tullius is growing impatient, but I'll bring back the deed. On my life, I won't allow a group of Stormcloak sympathizers to own the prison housing the most notorious criminals in the Reach. The say that no one ever escapes. Why? Is it really that secure?"_

The next morning, she was stopped by one of the city guards upon exiting the Silver-Blood Inn. This investigation was her first time acting outside the law not only in Skyrim, but in general.

"You there – I've seen you snooping around. Asking questions. Back off, you do not want to know what happens to troublemakers here."

Although she needed to know what was going on with her people, her need did not make this exchange any easier. Thinking about how her people act and the influence of their god of war, Molag Bal, she decided to play it tough when it came to interference during her investigation.

"What happens?" she replied. "I'm honestly curious what you'll do to me."

"If you keep on like that, then it's off to Cidhna Mine with you. Now, this is your last warning, outsider. We keep the peace here, so stay out of our business."

As the guard walked away, Vidyan simply stood there. Throughout her life, she had simply acted as she was told. She never stepped out of line. She learned only what her grandmother taught her, and she never spoke out.

_This is what she would have wanted for me_, Vidyan thought to herself. _She always wanted me to return to our people. To learn firsthand how we live. If our people won't talk to me, then this is my next best option. I need to know…_

Sighing deeply, Vidyan gathered up the courage to return to that damnable shrine, to return to that man with the auburn hair. It would be helpful to let him know what she discovered and in turn have him tell her more about the Silver-Blood family.

Their second meeting was brief, but she finally learned his name, Eltrys. He seemed wholly unsurprised that the largest family in the Reach would have their fingers in this conspiracy. They were bullies, acting almost like a mob within the Reach. Eltrys did mention that his wife worked in the Treasury House for Thonar Silver-Blood, but her job is more incidental and unrelated to the investigation.

With a pouch of coins in her hand, Vidyan left the shrine. This time, she ventured from the Dryside districts. Crossing the large river that cuts through the city, she made her way down to the smelters on the south side of town. Although the overseer was tight-lipped like everyone else, the workers were less hardened and quietly discussed their late coworker.

As Eltrys hinted in their first meeting, Weylin lived in the Warrens, a slum near the mine. Those underground tunnels had been mostly unused for decades until some time ago when someone decided to throw beds into the dank chambers. The Warrens housed nearly every native that lives in Markarth and are run by a Reachman named Garvey.

Thanking the smelters, Vidyan crossed back over the river and made her way into these slums. Like everything in Markarth, the Warrens were carved into the stone by the ancient Dwemer. And this labyrinth seemed to wind deep into the ancient Dwarven city. Given that those who could work were outside, everyone she met in the Warrens was very old and crippled – and all were starving.

All but one, that is. A short trek into the tunnels, she came across a native who looked well-fed and in good physical form, and this young man took immediate interest in her.

"The Warrens isn't a place for your type," remarked the man. "What do you want?"

"I am investigating the attack in the market yesterday," replied Vidyan. "A native named Weylin committed the atrocity and I am looking into him. Did you know him?"

"Oh, yes. I know everyone in the Warrens. The name's Garvey, and I'm kind of the one who passes the keys around. I guess someone else will be taking his room now."

Glad to know that she finally met someone who can help her, Vidyan immediately asked for his assistance. She needed the keys to Weylin's room, but he cut her off before she could explain why.

"Sorry, but you don't exactly belong here."

Screwing up her courage, she stepped into Garvey's personal space. As he backed away from her, she stepped forward once more.

"It's important. Trust me," she declared.

"No, it's not. Trust me," he replied.

As he backed up once more, he found himself against the stone wall. Seeing her opportunity, Vidyan moved forward and slammed her palm against the wall, right next to his head.

With a calm and quiet voice, she said "I wasn't asking…"

"Now, d-don't get upset," stuttered Garvey. "Here, take it!"

With her overbearing presence pressing in on him, Garvey folded. He fumbled around with his many keys before handing one to Vidyan, saying that it would open Weylin's room. Supposedly, she should take the next left, and his room was the last on the right. Keeping with her commanding demeanor, she patted Garvey on the shoulder before taking her leave of him.

As she turned the corner, she dropped her aggressive persona. It seemed that acting tough was difficult to maintain. Stumbling over some of the rubble, Vidyan leaned against the wall and took a deep breath to calm herself. This whole investigation was out of her depth…

After a few moments of calm, she made her way to the end of the passage and unlocked the door that Garvey described. At the very least, the man had given her the right key. Now, she had to confirm that this was indeed the right door, and thus dwelling of Margret's attacker.

The room held little furniture and was littered with stone rubble. There were a few threadbare blankets lying on a wooden bench and a rickety old dresser. A number of small trinkets and foodscraps littered the floor. The dresser held only a few articles of clothing, which were just as threadbare as the bedsheets. Sifting through the clothes, Vidyan found a note tucked inside one of the pockets.

_"You have been chosen to strike fear in the heart of the Nords. Go to the market tomorrow. You will know what to do. – N"_

After reading through the letter, she was annoyed to find another riddle. Who is N? And what power does he hold over the natives of the Reach? Maybe Eltrys could enlighten her further.

With her search complete, Vidyan made her way out of the Warrens. She nodded in Garvey's direction when she passed him. In response, he gave her a strange glare. As she emerged from the underground slum, the red glow of the setting sun turned the gray stone crimson.

"You have been digging around where you don't belong."

The voice came from a thug with a mohawk, donned in leather armor. As the man moved closer, her eyes adjusted to the sunlight and she saw the resemblance. He was a native of the Reach.

"I know you have been warned before, but I guess it never stuck. So, I've been sent to teach you a lesson."

Without skipping a beat, Vidyan replied "So tell me, who sent you?"

"Someone who doesn't like you asking questions."

"Well, I don't listen to threats," she replied. Vidyan then lunged at the man.

The man ignored her tackle and simply threw her to the ground. While the man chuckled at her attempt, she stumbled to her feet and tackled him again. This time, she managed to push him to the ground. With him pinned beneath her, she slammed her fist into his head.

Before she could attack again, the man took control and shoved Vidyan off him. Annoyed, the man finally started his attack. She easily dodged his first punch but fell to her feet in avoiding the second. As her quiver of arrows spilled over the road, she started kicking at the man's shins.

Without even a twinge of pain, the man reached down and lifted her off the ground. It was here that Vidyan was able to take full stock of their height difference. Holding her by the neck, he was able to lift her feet from the ground and still have enough leverage to throw a few punches. Thinking that she was punished enough, the man tossed her into the wall.

Barely conscious, her grandmother's teachings flashed before her. Through the teachings of Molag Bal, she defied authority. And similarly, through the teachings of the Warrior God, Malak, she would never surrender. In fact, Malak taught that it is honorable to be defeated in battle by a superior foe, as long as you never show weakness.

Scrambling around, she grabbed an arrow from the ground and stabbed it into the side of his right knee. As the man howled in pain, she used his body to pull herself up and jammed her palm into his lower jaw. Breathing heavily, she climbed over him and put all her weight on his right shoulder.

Unable to maintain his composure with his damaged knee, the man fell to the ground where she continued to pummel him into submission. Eventually her rage subsided, and she wrapped her hand around his neck.

"Now, you're going to talk, or I will send you to the Old Gods. Tell me, who are you?"

The man spat in her face before yelling "Screw you, bitch!"

With her free hand, she grabbed his ear and began pulling, causing him to scream.

"Who sent you?" she asked. "Who controls the Forsworn in Markarth?"

"I was sent by Nepos… Nepos the Nose," exclaimed the man. As his voice trailed off, she pulled on his ear even harder than before, her nails managing to draw blood.

"Damn you, bitch!" he cried. "The old man hands out the orders. He told me to make sure you don't get in the way. That's all, I swear!"

"Don't worry," she breathed into his ear. "I will be having a talk with Nepos later tonight… And I'm taking your sword."

She pushed the man into the ground and stumbled over to the stone walls, his sword dangling by her side. She felt dazed and confused, struggling to walk a straight line. However, Eltrys was waiting for her at the Shrine of Talos. Their meeting was prearranged. She could not be late.


	2. The Forsworn Conspiracy

02 - The Forsworn Conspiracy

Eltrys had already been waiting at the shrine by the time she staggered into the alley. Her body ached all over and her head felt like it had been cleaved in two. By this point, it was all she could do to stay upright, let alone travel any farther.

Eltrys had noticed her at once and ran over to help her onto a nearby bench. He wanted her to rest, but Vidyan seemed determined to keep going. She needed to know the identity of Nepos the Nose. More concerned with her health, Eltrys ignored her words and simply looked over body.

"…As far as I can tell, nothing seems broken," said Eltrys. "So, that's good. You're going to be covered in bruises come morning, but you'll live."

"I… don't care about that," replied Vidyan. "Nepos the Nose… sent somebody to silence me… So, who in Oblivion is Nepos the Nose?"

"Nepos is one of the most respected natives of the Reach. He's been in Markarth forever and is one of the few Reachmen to own property in the city. I've always wondered how he got his hands on it."

While he spoke, Vidyan started slipping into unconsciousness. Sighing, he decided to let her rest for a bit. Despite what he had to lose, the hope that Vidyan brought was enough to justify leaving his pregnant wife alone for the night. Eltrys stood watch as Vidyan slept through the night. She nearly regained consciousness a few times but was only woke a few hours before dawn.

While Eltrys was out getting something for her to eat, Vidyan sat in a darkened corner watching as a few citizens wandered up to the shrine to give their morning prayers to Talos. Although she never gave it much thought, it makes sense that the Stormcloaks were not the only people who desired to worship the forbidden god of mankind. Feeling sore and unsteady, Vidyan decided to keep to herself and let these citizens get on with their day.

By the time Eltrys returned, the sun had fully risen. The two of them moved to the nearby benches and ate a meal consisting of stale bread and a block of cheese. Vidyan learned that this sort of meal was common to the poorest in the cities, even though she preferred the taste of cooked venison and hare. But of course, many of the workers and common laborers could not afford freshly hunted game.

As they ate, she told the tale of her investigation into Weylin and the Warrens. Eltrys seemed wholly appreciative of her efforts and apologized for putting her in harms way. After a while, the conversation turned towards how to go about making their next move.

"Both the Silver-Blood's Treasury House, and Nepos' home, are located in the northern Dryside Districts," began Eltrys. "The Treasury is just above the main road, behind the gates. Nepos the Nose lives in a house on the upper levels. I don't think I've ever actually seen him before."

"I don't care as much about the Silver-Bloods right now. They may be involved, but Nepos sent someone to kill me. I cannot just ignore that."

"I agree. It's… strange. I never really considered Nepos as a possibility before now. I guess I always thought of him as a harmless old man." Eltrys gently shook his head before continuing. "You know, I just can't shake the feeling that Nepos gets his own orders."

Holding onto a pillar for support, Vidyan pulled herself to her feet. As Eltrys watched, she picked up her new sword and strapped it to her side. Seeing her look of determination, Eltrys got to his feet and took hold of her arm.

"Look, you're hurt. Let's – let's not do anything rash. As I said, my wife works for Thonar in the Treasury House. I can have her look into the situation and get back to us with anything useful. Just give yourself some time to recover."

"You're a Reachman like me," Vidyan responded. "We may not have been raised among our more primitive kinsmen, but we both know what the gods expect of us."

"The Old Gods, you mean. That time has passed, Vidyan. The Nords have won, there's nothing left for us to fight over. We've lost too many people to this damn Forsworn crusade."

"Oh, come on. That does not mean that we abandon our culture, our faith in the gods! What kind of native are you?"

Eltrys closed his eyes and thought for a bit before answering. "My father owned one of the mines in the Reach, which is rare for someone of our kind these days. He was… killed. The guards said that it was just a madman, but everyone knows it was the work of the Forsworn…"

"Our own people are killing each other," he continued. "We attack and we raid indiscriminately. In fact, we're little more than savages at this point. We've lost too many people on both sides of this conflict – a conflict that will never end. Why do we need to keep fighting?"

This answer took Vidyan by surprise. She knew that many of the natives in Markarth were not actively fighting back, but she would have thought that they were like Weylin. That they were just biding their time until the opportunity to strike appeared.

Although her grandmother used the term 'the Old Gods,' Vidyan always thought that she was referring to the recency of the Nine Divines. It never occurred that members of their culture have come to the point of simply abandoning millennia of history and tradition. Why did her grandmother never mention this reality before? Was this some new ideology that developed after the death of King Madanach twenty-four years ago?

"Look, although I understand," said Vidyan. "I cannot just stand idle while a man was sent to kill me. I'm not… I won't risk my life any more than I already have."

"Alright. I'll get in touch with my wife at the Treasury House. Stay safe."

The two of them split up, Eltrys finally returning to work, wherever that might be. Vidyan set out on learning more about Nepos the Nose. However, another thought crossed her mind as she started making her way back out into the marketplace.

Although Eltrys seemed convinced that nothing was broken, Vidyan was not so certain. Sure, her head was still pounding, and her abdomen was covered in bruises. Yet, breathing was strangely difficult. _I must have cracked a rib_, thought Vidyan. _There's no better explanation._

"I need to find a healer," she muttered to herself. "If I am going to be putting myself in harm's way like this, then I can't just let this heal on its own."

Wandering about the marketplace, Vidyan inquired about any local apothecaries. Although there were a few in the city, the best was the Hag's Cure in the upper district, near the Hall of the Dead. The place was said to be run by an old native by the name of Bothela.

"Welcome, welcome… A little Reach-magic can cure whatever ails you," chimes the old woman behind the counter.

"Morning, I am looking for something to help heal a broken bone – specifically a rib."

"Just a moment," responds Bothela. She calls out, "Muiri, grab the garlic-coated fish eggs from the back." Suddenly, a young woman moves out of the shadows and wanders into a backroom.

"How much will this cost? Garlic is plentiful and I'm certain slaughterfish can easily be found in the rivers. Shouldn't be much, right?" inquired Vidyan.

"Well, I did add a small touch to the concoction. A little magic from the Reach to speed the healing of the bone. Let's call it 55 gold septims."

Vidyan pulls out the pouch of coins that Eltrys paid her so far. Given that he worked at the smelters until recently, and lives in the Warrens even now, the 150 septims that she'd been paid thus far probably made up most of his life's savings. And here she was, dropping a third of this wealth on a single potion.

A few moments later, Muiri returned from the storeroom and handed Bothela the cure. After a little haggling, Bothela dropped the price to 45 septims and provided instructions for use. The phial contained four doses and she was to take one spoonful a day for three days. If followed exactly, her recovery time would be cut in half.

As the potion took effect, the pain from her wounds slowly faded away, and she decided to take yet another risk. She was just going to march right into Nepos' home and demand an audience. He is a high-ranking individual, probably well-versed in politics. Having been raised around the court intrigue in High Rock should give her an advantage here.

Upon knocking on the door, an older native woman answered.

"Excuse me, what's your business here?" inquired the woman.

"I came to see Nepos," replied Vidyan. "He should be expecting me."

"No, we haven't been expecting you, and the old man needs his rest. You should leave."

As the older woman moved to close the door, a man's voice drifted from inside the home. His voice sounded weak, coughing with every other word. Apparently, Nepos was warned that she would arrive and called for Vidyan to come inside. The older woman looked Vidyan over before letting her in.

Once inside, Vidyan found herself in a lavish house with trinkets and trophies placed decoratively all throughout. She was brought through to the dining chamber, where servants quickly moved about. Nepos the Nose was reading a book, resting in a rocking chair by the hearth. He was bald and his face gaunt. His finely-tailored clothing represented his high-ranking status.

Nepos was the first to speak: "I'm sorry about my housekeeper. She's a little overprotective of me. Now, what is it that you want?" As he speaks, he looks up from his book.

"I know about Weylin and his connections to the Forsworn," replied Vidyan. "And I know that you sent that thug to silence me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Ah, yes. You've proven to be a real bloodhound. Well, you've sniffed me out. I've been playing this game for almost twenty years." Nepos shakes his head in disgust. "Sending the young to their deaths, and all in the name of the Forsworn. I'm tired, so tired…"

"Are you acting alone? Or do you serve another?"

"Hmm, yes. I serve my king, Madanach. When our uprising fell at the hands of the Nords, they threw him in the mines. I don't know how, but he lives. I get his messages, and I hand out his orders without question."

"I heard that our king died when Jarl Ulfric and his men attacked," said Vidyan.

"Our king? Your behaviors are more Breton than Reachman." It was obvious that her statement amused him. "Regardless, those of us who didn't run were executed, save for a small handful. As I said, King Madanach has lived in the mine for the past twenty-four years."

"What can you tell me about him? What is he like?" Intrigued, Vidyan took a seat in the chair next to Nepos.

"Madanach is the _King-in-Rags_ – a man who once held the entire Reach in his grip. He stokes the passion of the downtrodden in this city. Directs them to kill the enemies of the Forsworn in our name, all from within Cidhna Mine. A Nord prison, isn't that ironic."

_He sounds amazing_, thought Vidyan. _He's exactly as my grandmother told me. A powerful warlord, who could enthrall his people. He united the various clans of the Reach and has still maintained control to this day._

"So, why are you telling me all this?" asked Vidyan.

"My dear girl, what makes you think that you're getting out of here alive? You were seen coming in. That girl at the door is a Forsworn agent masquerading as a maid. You aren't the first to get this far, and you won't be the last."

As he said all this, Vidyan slowly started looking around and sure enough each of his servants have positioned themselves throughout the room, brandishing weapons. Almost reflexively, Vidyan recalled the little magic that her grandmother taught her. She had only a moment to prepare, so she must act quickly.

Her first spell calls upon the powers of nature, making her skin as dense and coarse as tree bark. While her spell took effect, she had to contend with Nepos casting fire magic in her direction. Dodging his spells, she parried the older woman's attacks and fought back. Although Vidyan was attacked by the other servants, her magic held strong protecting her from harm. Only Nepos' fire magic was a problem.

However, Vidyan responded with her own fire magic. Her spell was nowhere near as strong as Nepos' magic, but he was physically weaker. Before long it was just her and the servants. When she managed to kill one of them, she made a run for it.

Vidyan sought out the busy streets, where there was safety in numbers. Her fire magic had burned Nepos badly enough for him to collapse in pain. Vidyan thought she saw him hit his head on the stone hearth, but she was not going back to check. And of course, one servant was felled by her sword.

Even still, she was badly burned and bleeding from a few new wounds. The exertion had even been enough for the potion to wear off. Her entire body felt as if it were still on fire and she found it nearly impossible to breathe. When she put enough distance between her and that house, she hid in an alley and took stock of her situation.

She had never used her magic in that way before, in fact she did not even know many spells. She could cast a basic light spell creating a small orb of moonlight. There was a basic flames spell that she mainly used to light candles and campfires. And of course, she only ever used that Oakflesh spell to blend in with the trees when hunting. Yet, she would likely be dead without her magic, as it helped her kill two people.

That thought finally hit home as Vidyan was now responsible for two murders within Markarth. Sure, she could argue self-defense, but would the Jarl see it that way? Though, getting sent to Cidhna Mine might not be so bad after all as King Madanach still lives. If he can survive the mine for over two decades, she can.

Speaking of survival, Vidyan was glad to find that the potion phial she bought earlier was still intact. Although the woman at the Hag's Cure said to take only one spoonful a day, she decided to instead down the rest of the potion right now. Within minutes, her pain had subsided.

The potion only lasted a little while, but during which most of her wounds had healed. She still had a few bruises to contend with, and her rib was still going to takes weeks to heal. But she otherwise felt good, as if she was ready for round three.

After a few hours of rest, she finally decided to move from this alley. She would return to the shrine of Talos and wait for Eltrys. He will likely be angry at her for rushing into things so quickly, but this time he does not need to nurse her back to health. She made her way back to the marketplace and began climbing the stone steps that led to the alley.

As she traveled past the Silver-Blood Inn, she knew something was wrong. Although the patrons inside were acting as if nothing new had happened, they still gave off the same air as the day Weylin killed Margret. The closer she got to the shrine, the fewer people she came across. It was as if people were avoiding the area entirely.

Of course, such a reaction is warranted when the city guard have taken over the shrine, brandishing their weapons at anyone who draws near.

"We warned you, but you just had to go and cause trouble," said one of the guards. "Now we have to pin all these recent murders on you, silence witnesses. Work, work, work…"

"I don't know what the Silver-Blood family are paying you," stammered Vidyan, "but I am sure that we can work something out."

"We had a nice arrangement between Thonar and Madanach, and we won't let you get in the way. If you have a problem with that, then you can take it up with Madanach. I'm sure the King-in-Rags and his Forsworn would love to meet you. Now, you're coming with us."

Suddenly, five guards surrounded Vidyan and two of them got to work wrapping a rope around her torso, tying her arms to her sides. Then another moved up and tied her wrists together. The guard left a line of rope connected to her wrists that they could use as a leash to drag her along. When she was properly tied up, the guards marched her through town, deeper into the Dryside districts.

The guards dragged her around for a good long while before bringing her to an empty alley. The guards stopped a few feet away from a younger man, dressed in the finest clothes that Vidyan had ever seen. The man remained silent as the guards pushed Vidyan to the ground. Then one of the guards walked up to him and whispered something. She could not hear much of their exchange, but one thing was clear – this was Thonar Silver-Blood.

After a moment, the guard stepped away and Thonar came forward. He took a good look at Vidyan. Eventually, he turned away and started pacing. It was clear that he was thinking through his options.

"A few days ago, that native boy, Weylin, killed a woman in the marketplace. Last night, I heard about how you nearly killed one of Nepos' servants outside the Warrens. Just a few hours ago, a group of Forsworn broke into the Treasury House and now my wife is dead. And suddenly I hear about you burning Nepos to death and killing his servants?"

At this point, Thonar stopped pacing and walked right up to Vidyan. He came so close that her face was but a few inches from his crotch. He then spoke down to her, his voice dripping with malice.

"That is a lot of blood flowing through Markarth right now. And someone has to pay for it. There are only two people who can still be held responsible… Oh, yes! I forgot to mention. Your friend, Eltrys, he's dead now. All thanks to you."

Thonar paused at this point, chuckling to himself. Apparently, he and the guards found the situation rather humorous. After a few moments, he put up a hand to silence the guards before continuing to address Vidyan once more.

"As I was saying, there are two _living_ people who can be held responsible. One of them is currently rotting in my prison and there's not much that I can really do about him right now. So that just leaves me with you. You and Madanach are wild animals, and I will see that you both rot to death in Cidhna Mine for this."

He turns away from Vidyan and told the guards to take care of her. As Thonar took his leave, the guards surrounded her once more. One of them grabbed her face and taunted her for moment. Then suddenly, he threw her onto the ground and held up his right hand. With a snap of his fingers, everything went black.


	3. Cidhna Mine

03 - Cidhna Mine

With another loud snap, Vidyan woke in near darkness. Within moments, she recognized the rocky crags of an underground tunnel. The only source of light was a nearby lantern; its light was partially blocked by two hulking figures. As she struggled to her feet, the largest figure spoke.

"All right, prisoner. You're a worker in Cidhna Mine now, and we expect you to earn your keep."

The voice was rough but noticeably feminine. Staring through the cage bars before her, Vidyan saw the outline of the woman's plated armor and the sword by her hip. The woman's appearance was unlike the uniform of Markarth guards. _The prison is likely guarded by mercenaries_, thought Vidyan. _That way the Silver-Bloods can operate the mine how they wish._

"There's no resting off your debt in some cell here in Markarth," continued the voice. "Instead, you'll mine ore until you start throwing up silver bars, understood?"

"Yes, I understand you," complied Vidyan.

"As befits your status as a prisoner, your possessions have been removed. You will find some clothes and a few loaves of bread on the ground behind you. Have fun in there, as you never see daylight again."

The woman called out for the door to be raised. Suddenly, the clinking of chains could be heard and before long the wooden portal behind her was lifted off the ground. Beyond it was a void of darkness, within which not a single source of light could be seen.

"Now get down there before I come in and cut your toes off," snarled the woman.

Slipping on the wet stone, Vidyan clambered to collect the food and clothes the woman mentioned. With her new possessions gathered in her arms, she silently moved into the darkness beyond. Within moments, the wooden portal slammed shut, locking her inside the mine.

She kept moving down the darkened tunnel, uncertain of where it ended. After what felt like hours, she could finally see light in the distance. She quickened her pace and slipped on the uneven ground, scraping her shin against the rocky floor. Even if she could not see it, Vidyan could feel the blood oozing from the wound.

Wincing in pain, she slowly picked herself back up and continued down the tunnel at her original pace. Eventually the light grew stronger and passage opened into a large, multi-level chamber. She walked out onto the wooden scaffolding on that makes up the upper levels of the chamber.

Most of the light was coming from a campfire on the lowest level. With the poor ventilation, the smoke drifted upwards, making it difficult to breathe. However, there was just enough light for her to see the long scrape that started at her knee and ran halfway down her shin. Unable to tend to the wound right now, Vidyan spent a few moments dressing herself before heading down towards the other inmates.

The next level down consisted once more of scaffolding, but its main platform was currently occupied by a number of rowdy prisoners. Two of them were brawling while the others cheered them on. It seemed that a few of them were even taking bets. Vidyan ignored the fight and continued down to the chamber's lowest point, the cave floor.

Many of her fellow prisoners were sitting around the campfire, joking about and making light of their situation. Many others were on the edges of the chamber, seemingly asleep. Holding her bread in her arms, she walked over to a bench with only one person nearby. She sat down and returned to the scrape on her leg, which was still bleeding profusely.

The Nord spoke to her: "Let me guess, you're the new blood, am I right? Yes, these tunnels can be quite dangerous if you lose your footing. So, ought to be careful."

The man then tossed her long strip of cloth that looked like it had been torn off a shirt. Vidyan mumbled something that sounded like thanks and started wrapping her leg in the cloth. In a place like this, she could only hope that it was not coated in someone else's fluids. After she was finished, the man introduced himself as Grisvar the Unlucky.

"That's an interesting name that you gave yourself. Where'd it come from?" she asked.

"Oh, I've been a revolving customer in this mine. I've been arrested for thieving numerous times," responds Grisvar. "In that sense, I guess you could say that I'm not a very good thief."

"How long is your sentence?"

"The first time? Six months. Then it was two years, then five years. Eventually the Jarl decided that I was too much of a problem, so he threw me in here for life."

"Well, then I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I pissed off Thonar Silver-Blood, and he _threw me in here for life_," said Vidyan.

"Bad move, girl. Bad, _fucking_ move," he said as began laughing. "Just keep to yourself in this prison, and you'll be fine. For a while…"

"Ominous," she responded.

As this conversation continued, it was plainly obvious that Grisvar was not the intellectual type. _Hopefully I can find someone worth talking to here_, thought Vidyan. _Otherwise, I am going to find this place very tedious._

Eventually, the conversation ended and Grisvar moved away to find more interesting company. Vidyan decided to put his advice to use and kept to herself. She sidled out of the main chamber and followed a tunnel into pure darkness. Suddenly remembering her magic, she cast her moonlight spell and continued until she found a dead-end and sat in silence until she fell asleep.

She was eventually woken when a few men came wandering into the tunnel, yelling loudly. Apparently, it was morning or something. All she knew is that they decided it was time to mine the silver ore and they tossed her a spare pickaxe. Periods of time passed in a similar manner, sleeping in darkened tunnels until everyone else gets to work, forcing her to mine.

Over time, she learned more about the various prisoners. The most vocal and noticeable people were dangerous killers, who commanded authority within the mine. One such man, was a pale Reachman named Uraccen.

"Why'd they throw you down here, new blood?" snarled Uraccen.

"Nothing, really," replied Vidyan. "I just wanted to learn more about how the city functioned."

"Ah, so you're the new lifer that I've been hearing about. Tough luck, friend. Those guards really sold you out," said Uraccen in amusement.

"So, why are you here?" asked Vidyan.

"The first time? I was innocent, framed as a Forsworn. After that, well, those murders were definitely my own work."

"Indeed," muttered Vidyan as she looked him over. "Do you know where I might find Madanach?"

"The King-in-Rags? No one talks to Madanach, I'm afraid. Not without getting past Borkul the Beast. And you don't want to talk to Borkul the Beast."

"That's an interesting name. What did he do to deserve it?"

"For one thing, the king's guard is big, even for an orc. I heard that he once ripped a man's arm off and beat him with it. He's old fashioned like that," joked Uraccen.

However, very few of these inmates truly struck a chord with Vidyan. In fact, after her first encounter with many of them, she simply chose to stay away and not interact any further. She did look into the man called Borkul the Beast, and the dark gray orc was nearly twice as tall as she was. The mere sight of him terrified her, and she chose to avoid him especially.

Eventually, she did find a prisoner that she did enjoy speaking with. His life and experiences were similar to hers, although his outlook was drastically different. He was Odvan, the grandson of Bothela of the Hag's Cure.

Odvan was rough at first, acting tough like the rest: "What do you want, new blood?"

"Oh, I'm just asking around. Trying to get to know some our… colleagues," she responded. "May I ask, how long you've been here?"

"A couple of years, I think. You lose track of time in this place. I wasn't a Forsworn when I came, but I joined up when I got in. It's easier that way."

"The guards arrested me for investigating the Silver-Blood family. What about you?" asked Vidyan.

Odvan shook his head and sighed before responding. "The guards say that I murdered someone… I was just sleeping off some mead at my grandmother's, but that did not stop them. Someone said that I was Forsworn, and that's all that mattered."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, at least I did something, but you're just a scapegoat," said Vidyan, her voice somber. "What's wrong with this city, it can't just be the Silver-Bloods."

"My family's always thought the recent past responsible – the Uprising and all that. Us Reachmen got a taste of independence, and the Nords took it back. No one trusts anyone not of their kind anymore."

Apparently restless, Odvan started looking around. Suddenly, he said: "Look, a word of advice – serve your time at the pickaxe and get out. Do not get involved in anything major and earn your keep. Just don't get a shiv in the gut over a skooma or some shit."

"What do mean, get a shiv in the gut?" asked Vidyan.

"A shiv, you know a small blade. I mean, you could just swing a pickaxe into someone's face, but people tend to see that coming. If you're going to be attacked, it's going to be with a shiv."

And with that bit of knowledge dropped, Odvan sidled away and found a new section of the mine to start digging in. His sudden departure saddened Vidyan as he was the only person in this mine that she truly seemed to enjoy talking with. She understood of course, since the inmates who have taken control do not seem keen when the lesser prisoners start talking amongst themselves in private.

After a long while, the collection of silver ore that everyone had mined was piled up on the platform in the main central chamber. Everyone was called the attend as the guards stormed into the mine and started loading the ore onto carts. The female guard who locked up Vidyan spoke with Borkul the Beast. Vidyan was too far away to hear anything spoken, but Uraccen made his way next to her and explained.

"They come in here once a week to clean out the bodies, grab any ore we've mined, and beat down the troublemakers. This is the only time when we get food, too. And if there's not enough ore mined up, we don't get any."

"So, what, we get to starve?" asked Vidyan.

"I guess, but those who work the hardest and those of us chosen to work for Madanach are given bulk of the food regardless. It won't be long before I no longer have to mine ore myself. The Beast came to speak to me, personally."

"Can you at least ensure that I don't starve?" asked Vidyan. "Maybe get me and audience with the King-in-Rags? I would love to meet him."

"As I said before, you would need to speak to the Beast about that. And my promotion is not set in stone yet. I still have to prove myself loyal to the cause."

"Then I guess I'll just have to speak with the Beast, then," she said.

Uraccen cast Vidyan a sideways glance but said nothing about her declaration. Even she knew it was foolish, she has seen firsthand how Borkul the Beast treats the other prisoners. He is a rough and dangerous fellow, who has nearly beaten a few people death during the time she spent here.

As the guards finished collecting the ore and the bodies, they left the chamber and returned along the main entrance. As the guards left, they took a few of the inmates who were to be released from prison and left behind a few sacks of food and several barrels of water. During the commotion, she saw the Beast heading back down a tunnel Vidyan has never entered.

Abandoning pretense, she walked away from Uraccen and started running down the path after the Beast. After passing through a few small chambers, she found herself faced with a set of steel bars blocking her path. There was a cast-iron door fitted into the portal, with a padlock hanging over it. Unable to pick the lock, she waited for the Beast to return.

Eventually, he returned and unlocked the gate to allow himself back through. He was preoccupied with the gate at first, but quickly noticed her floating moonlight spell.

"The new meat, so soft, so tender… So tell me, what was your first kill like?"

"It was… horrible," responded Vidyan. "But I had no choice in the matter. It was either going to be me or them."

"Pah. The gods have a place for killers. The gods put us here to fill their halls with souls. Give it time, and you might just fit in down here."

"So… might it be possible for me to see Madanach?"

"You want to talk to the King-in-Rags?" responded Borkul. "Fine, but first you got to pay the toll. How about you go get me a shiv?"

"A shiv, really? What would someone like you need with a shiv?"

"Not that I need one, but it's nice to have in case I need to do some… shaving." The orc started laughing maniacally at the thought.

"Look, Madanach has been expecting me," said Vidyan. "I was involved in the death –"

The Beast cut her off: "The only thing Madanach expects from someone like you is a bottle of skooma every so often. You're not getting through that way."

"Fine, I'll go get you a shiv." As she walked away, she muttered under her breath, "As you said, it's not like you need one." Though of course, she had no idea where to actually get a shiv.

With some deliberation, she decided to ask Uraccen. At the very least, he was the only dangerous inmate that she is on good terms with. He might be able to help her out. However, he always showed up out of nowhere when he wanted to speak but could never be found otherwise. Even while some of Madanach's representatives started yelling for her to grab a pickaxe and get to work, she just ran past and searched through the mine.

In due course, she came across Odvan once more. After quickly explaining the situation to him, he protested the idea but mentioned that Grisvar the Unlucky might have a spare. Gladdened that finding Uraccen was unnecessary, Vidyan learned that Grisvar was nearby. Just down a nearby tunnel. As she ran to go find the Nord thief, Odvan yelled back that they were supposed to be working.

Breathing heavily, Vidyan made her way to Grisvar. Tapping on his shoulder to get his attention, she asked if he had a spare shiv. He looked around to check if anyone was paying attention before answering.

"Ah, you want protection? I might just have what you need. Tell you what, if you do something for me first, you can have a shiv. Now, there's this primitive Forsworn named Duach hiding somewhere. The guy owes me a bottle of skooma. The finest, distilled Moon Sugar – pure bliss. But the guy's been stonewalling me. So, can you help?"

Vidyan hesitated for a moment before responding: "Sure, I'll get you the bottle."

"Thank you, friend. I'll have that shiv ready for you when you get back."

With a little investigation, the Forsworn named Duach was easy to find. However, she still had to duck from Madanach's cronies as they tried to get her to work the ore veins. When she got to Duach, the conversation was short.

"The other prisoners get suspicious when we talk like this, so get to it," muttered Duach.

"I hear you have a bottle of skooma. I also hear that the bottle belongs to Grisvar."

Fuck you! That skooma's mine and if you give me one more look, I'll cut you open."

"Look, I need it badly. Right now," pleaded Vidyan. "Just hand it over and no one gets hurt."

"You want to fight? I'll take you here and now. Make peace with your gods."

Without further warning, Duach picked up his pickaxe once more and swung at Vidyan. He was ferocious, attacking her again and again without relief. It was all that Vidyan could do to avoid his weapon, let alone fight back. Grisvar should have mentioned that this man was powder keg, waiting to go off. Suddenly, Duach swung a little wide and jammed his pickaxe into the cave wall.

Seizing her opportunity, Vidyan lunged forward and fought him for the pickaxe. He was physically stronger and nearly jammed her head into the pick. Instead, she managed to push herself into him and knock him off balance. As he struggled to stay on his feet, she tore the pickaxe from the rock wall and held it behind her. Wishing to end this quickly, Vidyan summoned up a ball of flame in the palm of her other hand.

Seeing himself both disarmed and suddenly outmatched, Duach backed into the wall, terrified. He suddenly began rummaging in his trousers and pulled out a small bottle of liquid. Tossing the pickaxe aside, Vidyan walked closer and took the bottle before backing away. She broke eye contact with Duach only when she had turned the corner, at which point she ran straight back to Grisvar.

In order to make the exchange, Vidyan had to promise not to use the shiv on him later on. With their agreement settled, Grisvar tasted the bottle's contents and then handed her a metal rod wrapped in cloth. Not certain if this is exactly what Borkul the Beast was expecting, she decided to give it a go anyway. On her way back to Madanach's cage, Odvan caught up with her.

"Look, it's not too late to back out of this now," begs Odvan. "Your life might be stuck here in this cave, but you're still young. There's still a lot of life in you, don't throw it away."

"Do you know what I had to do to get this thing?" asked Vidyan, holding up her new shiv. "I had to fight a man for it, and he nearly killed me with a pickaxe."

Odvan was visibly repulsed at the thought and unnerved by how proud she seemed after needlessly risking her own life. He tried to protest further, but eventually the two of them made their way back to Borkul the Beast. Odvan hung back as Vidyan approached the orc.

"Here's your shiv. Just don't go shaving me with it."

Borkul was impressed by her initiative and held up a finger for her to wait. He turned and worked the key into the lock. As he swung the gate open, he addressed her.

"Head on in there, but don't try anything. Madanach is smarter than you might think."

Borkul stepped aside to let her pass, before closing the gate behind her. There were a few tunnels that branched off the main, but she decided to ignore them for now as this tunnel ended in a small, well-lit chamber with actual furniture. There was a proper bed, a dresser, and even a desk that were all constructed out of hardwood.

Sitting at the desk was an older man, with gray hair and a long beard. He was very pale and weak in appearance, yet strangely fit for someone his age. Even so, it was obvious that Madanach was but a shell of his former self. As she walked into the chamber, he looked up from the papers on desk.

"Well, well. Look at you, the Nords have turned you into an animal. A wild beast caged and left to go mad. So, new blood, what can I do for you?"

"You have a lot to answer for on the outside, but right now I want to know how Thonar fits into the picture."

"I had Markarth. My men and I drove the Nords out and we had won, or so we thought. Their retribution was swift. I was captured, quickly tried, and sentenced to death…" he responded. "My execution never came; Thonar Silver-Blood stopped it. He wanted the Forsworn at his call, that I would point my people's rage at his enemies and spare his allies. And so, I have. It was humiliating at first, but I knew he would let his guard down eventually. That he would come to trust I was under control."

"Thonar is a real bastard. Well, just tell me what you need. There has to be some way for our people to be free of this place and their influence."

"I thought you were of native ancestry. Yet you were not raised in the wilds, nor were you one of the natives living in Markarth. So, who are you?"

"I… don't really have a good answer to that," mumbled Vidyan. "I was born during your reign over the Reach. I have no idea if my parents are still alive, but my grandmother took me to High Rock. We blended in and bided our time. Eventually, I decided that it was time to return home."

"So, you know nothing of our struggle these past few decades. You know nothing of the cruelty that we have suffered under the boot of the Nords. You were raised an outsider and expected to be welcomed back into our culture – our society?"

"I know that I was naïve, but that's why I dedicated my time in Markarth learning more about our situation. I'm sorry about Nepos the Nose but that was self-defense on my part."

"You can apologize all you want, but if you truly desire to understand our plight then there is a man you should talk to. His name is Braig and besides me, he's been here the longest. With your resourcefulness, you should find him easily. Tell him I sent you and ask him why he's here. You will learn how widespread the injustice of Markarth truly is."

With a task set before her, Vidyan was asked return to mines proper. Madanach had other business to concern himself with. Bowing slightly, Vidyan traveled back down the tunnel and was let out by Borkul the Beast. Odvan had waited for her the whole time, leaning against the cave wall opposite from the Beast. He did not react to her reappearance until she moved to the other side of the chamber.

"So, did you learn what you wanted from the King-in-Rags?"

"Not quite, but he is pointing me in the right direction. Do you know of a native named Braig, somewhere in the mine?" asked Vidyan.

"Braig, Braig… No, the name doesn't ring a bell," answered Odvan.

"Well, then I need to find someone who does know of him."

The two of them split up and returned to their duties, mining the silver ore for the Silver-Bloods. In their spare time, they both worked together to find the man named Braig. Very few people seemed to know of him, but sooner or later they located an inmate that could introduce them. Braig was an old, balding man who was no longer physically capable of mining the ore. In exchange for years of his of service, he is now under Madanach's protection.

"My name is Vidyan, and this is Odvan. Madanach asked me to hear your story," said Vidyan.

"My story, huh? Everyone in Cidhna Mine has a tale," responded Braig. "Let me hear yours first. When was the first time you felt chains around your wrists?"

"This is my first time behind bars. Until recently, I guess you could say that I was always a good girl," answered Vidyan.

"Then you weren't raised in the Reach. Do you have any family? Anyone waiting for you on the outside?" asked Braig.

"I have few friends back in High Rock, but there is no one waiting for me," said Vidyan.

"Hm, well I had a daughter, once. If memory serves, she'd likely be thirty-three this year. Probably married to some hot-headed smelter, or maybe learned the herb trade," began Braig. "When the Nords killed the Forsworn Uprising, they did not care who was and who wasn't involved. I had spoken to Madanach once, and that was enough for my execution."

"Yet, my little Aethra didn't want to her papa leave her," continued Braig. "She pleaded to Jarl Ulfric to for my pardon. They made me watch as they executed my little girl. Seeing her head roll off the block was not enough punishment it seems. So, they threw me in here to dig up their silver."

"I'm sorry… sorry that happened to you," responded Vidyan. The mere retelling of this tale brought her to tears. While she cried, Odvan sat with his head bowed in solemn silence.

"My daughter is the one who needs your pity. I'm just a poor Forsworn whose only regret is not killing more Nords before I was locked up," said Braig.


	4. The Great Escape?

04 - The Great Escape?

After listening to Braig's story, Vidyan returned to Madanach to hear what he had to say next. He asked her to imagine hearing such stories over and over again. Even though such injustice was rampant under Jarl Ulfric, he was eventually arrested by the Empire and Jarl Holfdir became the next instigator of these crimes against the natives.

"Your meddling above ground reminded me of how isolated that I've been from our struggle. I guess that I should be in the hills, fighting alongside my people. I've been trapped here for so long," said Madanach.

"So, that means there is a way out of here?" asked Vidyan.

After a long pause, Madanach sighed before answering. "There might be…"

Madanach dismissed her from his quarters and she described the meeting to Odvan. Together, they seemed glad of an eventual escape from this prison, but the way that Madanach answered her question made her uneasy. Given his noncommittal answer, Vidyan did not expect anything for a few weeks, and she was unsurprised when another week had passed. The guards came, grabbed the ore and left without incident.

As time passed, she rose in prominence within the mine. Although Vidyan never showed the aggressive nature and killer instinct of many of Madanach's men, she soon became his favorite. They meet repeatedly throughout the following week, just talking about the world above and beyond. As the third week came to a close, Vidyan brought up the possibility of escape once more.

"Yes, I have thought about the situation and decided that it is time for me to return to our little war with the Nords," began Madanach. "Even though you have proven an interesting girl to talk with, I will need a show of loyalty from you. Have you met Grisvar the Unlucky? He's rightly named but is also a thief and a snitch. I cannot allow such a Nord to put us in unnecessary risk. Take care of him, and we can leave Cidhna Mine for good."

Uraccen willingly handed her a shiv after hearing about Vidyan's task. He even gave her advice on how to go about ending Grisvar's life. He must know why he's being killed, and be given a chance to fight back, but she must prove to be an overwhelming force and defeat him swiftly. Word spread among Madanach's men and eventually Grisvar was given a wide berth, ready for the slaughter. With trepidation, she approached the Nord thief.

"I'm sorry to say this, but Madanach says hello," said Vidyan.

"What? I don't follow. Wh-what does he want with me?" asked Grisvar.

"You've outlived your usefulness, and you're a risk to his plans."

She pulled out her shiv and struck before the Nord had a chance to respond.

Her weapon lodged itself into Grisvar's abdomen, causing his blood to spill out.

She yanked the weapon from his body and stepped back, waiting for his move.

In his panic, he ignored his pickaxe and simply tried to tackle Vidyan to the ground.

As he threw himself at her, she jammed the shiv through the underside of his jaw. The metal stabbed all the through until it struck the top of Grisvar's skull. With her right arm covered in his blood, she pushed the Nord's body away and left the shiv lodged inside his head. She was horrified by what she had done in the name of her king.

Out of everyone that she had fought, all of her kills were in self-defense. She had called Grisvar out, named him irrelevant, and killed him in a gruesome fashion. The mere feeling of his blood on her arm was enough to make her feel unwelcome in her own body. It was sickening, but she rationalized her murder as something that needed to be done.

She backed away from the scene and ran straight into the arms of Odvan. As she broke down, he guided her out of the chamber. He brought her to an isolated tunnel and sat her down. He did not say word for a long while as her eyes swelled with guilt and regret. Vidyan recalled her first day in the mine, how alone she felt and how she had scraped her leg.

Grisvar had been the first person she had met. Instead of treating her condescendingly like the others, he had instead offered her a bandage to fix up herself up. Sure, the wound was still far from healed but he had offered her aid without any expectation of anything in return. Although he was just as much a criminal as the others, he was nice to her and she killed him.

Throughout Vidyan's emotional break down, Odvan held her in his arms, comforting her. After some time, they heard the wailing of many others in the distance. There was fighting and bloodshed ringing throughout the mine. Shaken out of her self-pity, Vidyan pulled Odvan up and set out to investigate. Neither of them had any idea what was happening, but a large portion of the prisoners were now dead.

Those that remained were gathered in the chamber outside Madanach's cell. For the first time since she arrived, the King-in-Rags had decided to make an appearance within the general population. He stood tall, proud and began his proclamation.

"My brothers and sisters, we have been here long enough. It's time to leave Cidhna Mine and continue our fight against the Nords. Through this gate, just beside my quarters, is a tunnel. A tunnel that leads right through the old Dwarven ruins of Markarth, likely into the city. I cannot guarantee where it leads, but we may very try and make it through. We might actually see daylight again! Well, what do you say, my brothers?"

Suddenly, the chamber erupted in shouts of jubilation, "The Reach belongs to the Forsworn!"

Before the euphoria was given a chance to fade, Madanach turned back into his cell and motioned for everyone to follow. He took them down a few side passages that wound themselves deeper into the planet. The tunnel opened into a sudden drop into a dwarven passage similar to the Warrens. They came across a few skeevers (giant rats) and frostbite spiders that were no problem for the group of them.

They found their way into a large vertical chamber with light shining down from a crack in the ceiling above. Knowing that escape was close at hand, the group began pushing ever more fervently and eventually came across evidence of a double-cross. No one outside Madanach's closest allies knew of his plan, but a number of the city guard had been positioned inside the ruins. Killing each and every guard they came across, they quickly found their way out.

However, their escape was put to an abrupt halt on the city streets when they were surrounded by the city guard. Although a number of the escapees had collected swords and bows from the guards in the ruins, they were no match against the swarm of armed men before them. Instead of attacking, the guards simply held their ground and waited.

This gave Vidyan a chance to look around and examine their surroundings. It was late at night and the city was dark as ever. Based on their elevation, it seemed that they were located in the upper districts, near the Hall of the Dead and the Hag's Cure. After a few moments, a couple guards moved aside, allowing Thonar Silver-Blood to step forward.

"Madanach… the King-in-Rags," announced Thonar. "Did you honestly think that you could escape my prison? After everything you've done to my family, after all the crap that I've had to clean up in the past few weeks. You'll be lucky if you die tonight."

"What have I done to your family? Did I attack the Treasury House; did I kill your wife? Have any of your children perished in my attacks?" inquired Madanach. "What about my family – my people? You've poisoned the Reach with your tainted silver long enough, Thonar!"

Amused by Madanach's bravado, Thonar broke out into raucous laughter and soon enough the city guards began laughing as well. "You're surrounded, Madanach. Your people have nowhere to go but back into the mine. And you're going to be brought before the Jarl and suffer unending –"

Before Thonar could finish his thought, an arrow sprouted through his chest and he fell to the ground. The guards then began dropping like flies as pandemonium erupted. None of them had attacked, but their enemies were dying before their eyes. Taking their cue, the group rushed at the few surviving guards.

As the last of the guards lay bleeding on the city streets, a couple of Reachmen jumped down from the rooftops. These newcomers were dressed in the primitive clothing of the Forsworn with weapons made of wood and bone. It seemed that Madanach had been putting this plan into action for a while now. With the lot of them fully armed, they began their assault on the city of Markarth.

During the assault, they broke into the Warrens and called forth the downtrodden natives, almost doubling their numbers. The attack continued throughout most of the night, but the unarmored Forsworn were taking heavy casualties. Come morning, they had escaped the city and the city guard had been decimated.

Exhausted from the fight, the escapees took refuge in a cave two miles from the city. That evening, those who knew how to hunt were given bows and sent out to find food. They set out the next morning marching farther north towards a place known as Druadach Redoubt. It was the cave where Madanach was raised. His clan came from the area and it was where he launched his attack on the Nords twenty-four years previously.

Upon reaching the cave, Madanach divided them into groups and set each group a unique task. Unfortunately, Vidyan and Odvan were separated. She was put together with the hunters and foragers, while he was tasked to help put together the settlement's tents and structures. Every few days, the groups were dismantled, and everyone was put into a new group with a new task.

It took a few days before Vidyan started realizing what her King had done. He had organized his new clan in a way where they were all too busy to socialize. There was apparently not enough time to take a break and truly form bonds with her clansmen. A week had passed, and she only spoken with Odvan twice. It was easy to justify this organization as readying them for war, but she could not shake the idea that there was something else behind Madanach's decisions.

One day, she simply tore herself from her group and grabbed hold of Odvan. Pulling him away from his duties, she confided in him her suspicions. He remained silent but absorbed every word that she said.

"Wasn't it strange how he just happened to know of that tunnel's existence. It was just there by his cell. He could have escaped at any time, with or without us, but he chose to stay in that prison. He said that he should be out here fighting amongst his people, but he only took the idea serious when I kept bringing it up," she said.

"Well, you saw what happened when we did escape. The guards were all over us from the start," responded Odvan.

"That's just it, how did they know? It was obviously pre-planned to cull the prisoners after I proved myself with Grisvar. So, he spoke about his idea beforehand – told others. And then the guards knew. Someone talked, but if Madanach kept it to himself… He could have escaped the mine years ago. He could have been taking the fight to the Nords personally, but he didn't."

"Have you noticed that we haven't even reached out to any other encampments?" asked Odvan. "If we're actually preparing for war, then why aren't trying to bring our people together and fight back?"

"Because I don't think that's Madanach's plan. He's trying to keep us too exhausted to fight back, too busy trying to go after the Nords. Too tired to question."

"Well, there is a lot of work to do, and he did say that it would take years to be ready."

"So that means we isolate ourselves. I don't know about you, but Bruca's Leap is only a few miles north," replied Vidyan. "As you said, if we plan to go to war then why don't we work together? I think that the answer is clear – we're not."

In the end, two weeks had passed but the two of had suffered enough under the rule of King Madanach. Vidyan and Odvan were given a chance to join the Forsworn and learn how to act among their primitive clansmen. It should be easy for them to merge into another encampment, at least, easier than Vidyan's previous experiences.

The two of them traveled back south, careful to avoid the city, and made their way towards the headwaters of Karth River. They integrated into the clans of the Blind Cliff, which served a hagraven named Melka as their leader. In general, both Vidyan and Odvan were put together with the other hunters to provide food for the encampments. Odvan was occasionally recruited to help during an occasional raid.

Vidyan took the time to learn more about her people's religious practices and traditions. She knew of their pantheon and the teachings of the gods, but actual rituals were foreign to her. The natives of Blind Cliff worshipped the Lord of the Hunt, Hircine, and the Goddess of Nature, Kyne, as they were the heads of the pantheon. However, the hagraven was more dedicated to Namira, the goddess of death and decay.

As thus, their rituals and practices were far more revolting and abhorrent than Vidyan would have liked. Of course, this ties back to the warmongering nature of the Reachmen. They tend to have shorter lifespans not due to disease, but simply because many of their number die in combat. It makes sense, then, for them to get close to their goddess of death. And her realm is filled with the most despicable and disturbing of practices.

Even still, neither of them could get used to such a lifestyle. So, they left the area and continued south. Over the course of weeks, the two of them continued to bounce from one encampment to another in a similar fashion as they wrapped around the Karth River's bend and continued east. Eventually they made their way into Falkreath Hold.


	5. Falkreath Hold

02 - Falkreath Hold

It had been over a month since the escape from Cidhna Mine, and Vidyan spent that time learning more about how her people live. She desired to turn her academic understanding into a practical knowledge. At the same time, she searched for an encampment whose practices matched what she was looking for in her people.

She was taught about their religious and cultural practices through oral telling and through the books of outsiders. As her grandmother taught her Reachman history and traditions, Vidyan idealized these teachings. She did not know how her people actually lived, but she knew what they could be. Not a single encampment held true to this idyllic model.

When the two of them finally made their way to edges of the Reach, Vidyan pushed for further exploration. She knew that there were no encampments farther east than Sunderstone Gorge, but eventually her idealism turned into wanderlust. She needed to explore, to learn more about the world. To reflect on the reality before her.

Odvan traveled alongside her for most of her journey. He knew how determined she was, and how capable she could be. He saw potential in Vidyan, even if she did not see it in herself. Throughout her journey through the Reach, he stood by her side.

Unlike Vidyan and her extreme introversion, Odvan enjoyed the company of others. A few days into wilderness of Falkreath Hold, the two of them came across a group of hunters that was willing to accept them both. When Vidyan refused, wishing instead to meditate on her situation, Odvan chose to stay with the hunters. This was not a permanent parting as they agreed to meet up at Helgen within a month.

The town was on the east end of the Hold, north of the capital City of Falkreath. In between her and the town was a large pine forest wrapped by the Jerall Mountains in the south and Lake Ilinalta in the north. For about a week, her travel through the forest was slow but deliberate. She spent the time meditating on her experiences in Skyrim, on how she should proceed from this point forward. Was she truly too picky, or was something fundamentally wrong with her people?

Without the mountains and rocky crags of the Reach, the forest of Falkreath was teeming with game. She never went hungry, could always find food, and was able to create shelter for herself. She carved an amulet out of bone in the style of her people and blessed it in the name of the Old Gods. While she wore the amulet, she found that it took hotter flames in order for her to burn herself.

This tranquility lasted little over a week, when she came across a group of bandits in the wilderness. She tried to fight back, but there were too many of them and she took too long drawing her sword. Four powerful bandits took her down and dragged her to what she later came to know as Bannermist Tower.

Her weapons and gear were taken from her and she was locked into the cell on the lowest level. Based on this cell, it was apparent that these bandits saw some value in her. Not only was she locked inside with two other prisoners, but there were two locked chests inside the cell with them. To these bandits, their prisoners were treasure.

Vidyan was locked up with an Imperial man, named Arlowe, and a Nord woman, named Nille. Arlowe had been captured a few days ago, but Nille had been here for almost three weeks. Vidyan learned that they are being kept as slaves, to do the bidding of the bandits. The three of them were removed from their cell every so often to aid a couple of bandits with menial tasks. Most often, they would be commanded to cook and carry loot. The bandits even raped Nille on occasion.

Every morning, the prisoners were tossed some smoked meat, and any prisoner who cooked would be allowed a piece of the meal. Within a few days, Vidyan was drawn from her cell to look after a boar roasting in the fire. All the while, she was taunted and molested. Even if there were not as many of them, her right leg was still badly bruised after her capture. It pained her to move her leg, let alone fight back.

For the time being, she chose to sit back and examine their organization. She could easily pick out the leader of the group due his heavy plated armor. He was a tall, Nord male, referred to as Kjeld the Clanslayer. He gave out of the orders and the others followed, some out of fear but many due to respect. The Clanslayer was only bandit that never had to work and was the only bandit allowed to take Nille, deflowering her further.

All the others were of noticeably lower status, wearing fur and hide. They hunted the game, cut down the trees for firewood, and scouted the area for more targets. Every night, Kjeld called the other bandits together in a circle, pitting them in one-on-one fights. Every so often, the Clanslayer decided to challenge the most recent victor and always proved his own dominance.

Even if the prisoners did manage to steal weapons of their own, fighting back was going to be difficult, if not impossible. Her magic would give them an edge, but there were eight trained and deadly bandits versus three mostly-incapable prisoners. Determined not to be held against her will much longer, Vidyan looked for the weakest link in their organization.

In addition, she needed to know why they were taking prisoners. What was the Clanslayer's long-term goal, if he even had one. On the eighth day, the leader called her from the cell and brought her along on a raid. She was given nothing to protect herself but was put on a leash to be held by an Imperial archer by the name of Nigidius. After the raid, she was tasked to carry some of the heaviest loot by herself.

On the way back, she decided to try her luck and spoke to the Clanslayer. He was at the front, leading the group, while she was held in the center. So, Vidyan pulled on her leash and brought herself beside him. The other bandits readied their weapons, but Kjeld looked unconcerned.

"I was just – just wondering what you wanted with us. Are we just to serve as slaves, or do you have another goal in mind?" asked Vidyan.

The Clanslayer chuckled at her question but did not respond.

"Look, I just desire to know my fate so I can prepare for it, no matter what it may be."

"You are a slave," responded Kjeld. "You do not speak unless spoken to."

Disliking his response, Vidyan dropped the furs and hides and stomped on them. Immediately, one of the bandits rushed forward and put his hand around her neck, but Kjeld called him off.

"You don't like being a slave? I thought that you said you were prepared no matter my answer?" said the Clanslayer.

"You didn't answer my question," she said. "Instead, you told me to keep my mouth shut. So, your goods, whatever you use them for, are now on the ground."

She spoke with the same insubordination that she had expressed during her time in Markarth. It still did not suit her, and that fact was obvious enough for Kjeld to see right through her. Even still, he played along.

"You want fight back, little Breton?" he asked. "You want to challenge my authority, to raise yourself to my level?"

Vidyan hesitated for a moment before responding: "I just want an answer from you, what is your end goal regarding your prisoners?"

The Clanslayer smirked at her response. "If you keep this up, I might just begin to like you. Now, pick up those hides before Nigidius whips you."

He then turned back around and continued on his way. The other bandits hesitated for a moment before following suit. This left Nigidius and her alone at the back of the group, while she bent down to recollect to the loot. Out of the eight bandits, Nigidius was always the one left to pick up the pieces. He was always the one sent out on patrol and the one tasked with taking care of the prisoners. He was the weakest link.

"Why do you let him treat you like this?" she asked. "I mean, he treats you almost like a prisoner. He doesn't seem to trust you."

"Shut up, you bitch. You don't know what you're talking about."

"I've been watching the group; I've been watching you. You might as well be carrying these." Without concern, Vidyan shoves the hides into Nigidius' arms.

The Imperial is stumbled backwards due to the added weight as Vidyan backed away from him. Looking behind to see if the other bandits took notice, she pulled on the leash, drawing him closer. As she took back the hides, Vidyan whispered into his ear.

"What do you think Kjeld would do if he noticed that I'm making a fool of you back here?"

She pulled away from Nigidius and the group returned to Bannermist Tower without issue. After rattling the Imperial, she was able to garner his attention whilst locked back in the cell with Arlowe. With the Clanslayer busy with Nille upstairs and the other bandits wandering about, no one took notice while she and Nigidius spoke.

The conversation was just a pretense to draw him within arm's reach, when she reached for his sword and pulled it from its scabbard. As she pulled it through the cell bars, Nigidius tried to grab it but only ended up cutting his fingers. She backed away from the bars and held the sword behind her, taunting him.

While Nigidius quietly begged for his sword back, Vidyan turned to Arlowe. She asked him what he was willing to do if they had a chance to escape. Arlowe was terrified by the prospect, but deeply wished to return to his wife in the city. He simply nodded his head in acceptance of any plan.

Turning back to Nigidius, Vidyan gave him an ultimatum: "Go and get the keys to this cell. I'm not moving closer to that door and won't get your sword back without opening the gate. And when the Clanslayer notices a prisoner with a sword… Well, I wouldn't want to be you."

When Nigidius returned with the keys, Vidyan pulled him into the cell and locked him inside. She told Arlowe to hide while she snuck around, looking for the other bandits. Vidyan knew two things, she was not just going to leave Nille with Kjeld, and she needed her bow and amulet.

At the same time, she should not just storm into the tower. Her victories so far have been more luck-based, but that luck will run out eventually. If she wants to save them all, then she must think strategically. She would need to take out the various bandits wandering outside the tower first.

She knew where many of the bandits were, due to her surveillance throughout the past eight days. Unlike hares, the bandits were easy to track; and unlike deer, they were not as aware of their surroundings. With vengeance on her breath, Vidyan snuck up and shoved the sword through their backs.

As three nearest bandits died, she held her hand over their mouths to stifle any yelling. Once they had been neutralized, she casted her Oakflesh spell and charged into the tower. There were two bandits on the second level, as well as the banging and grunting coming from above. The two bandits leaped to action and attacked.

Her combative skills were rusty, but her magic won the fight for her. As she slew the two bandits, the Clanslayer had pulled himself from the bed and donned parts of his armor. Even still he was mostly naked as he rushed downstairs. He had donned his steel cuirass and helm, but the rest of his body was unarmored, and even unclothed.

His strength was phenomenal, pushing against her every strike. He kept her off-balance throughout most of the fight and would have won if not for her bark-like skin. He badly cut into her skin but failed to draw blood. Slowly, the pain built up but Vidyan pushed through it and managed to catch him off-guard. She thrust her blade into his foot, forcing him to limp away from her. Rushing at him, she bashed her sword against his head and brought him to his knees.

She refused to kill him, and instead grabbed an arrow from a nearby quiver and jammed it into his knee. As the Clanslayer yelled in agony, Nille cautiously walked downstairs to join Vidyan. She looked violated but relieved. Vidyan wrapped her arm around Nille's shoulders and began walking her out of the tower. They were stopped by Arlowe, who was stammering about a final bandit running back to the tower.

Vidyan sighed for moment before kicking the Clanslayer aside. She then ran out to engage this final bandit. The female Redguard was donned in studded hide armor, wielding a steel longsword. At the sight of Vidyan, the Redguard rushed towards the tower. Watching the woman run towards her, Vidyan felt the transformation as her Oakflesh spell ended.

With her magicka as drained as it was, Vidyan could not recast the spell. She could, however, cast her minor flames spell and burn the Redguard before engaging in melee combat. The woman dodged most of the fire but was noticeably burned. As the Redguard attacked with her sword, Vidyan ducked under the blade and used her own sword to mangle the woman's right leg.

The Redguard tried to fight back, and it seemed that her armor was enchanted, providing her with greater levels of health. Finally, Vidyan managed to abuse the woman's mangled leg and knocked her to the ground. Vidyan thrust Nigidius' sword into the woman's head and then fell to her knees, completely exhausted. She was badly bruised, covered in blood, and starving. Yet, Vidyan won.

Forcing her legs to move, she reentered the tower to search for her equipment. She found her bow in their armory, next to a strange looking bow. It was dark, pale green in color with strange spikes jutting out of it. She had never seen orcish craftsmanship before and, even though the afternoon was warm, the bow was cold to the touch. She decided to take the orcish bow instead and grabbed her amulet. As she led her fellow prisoners from the tower, she decided to take the Redguard's enchanted armor since it would provide greater advantage than her previous gear.

With her preparations complete, the three of them left Nigidius and the Clanslayer behind as they fled to the east. A few days passed and they made it to the City of Falkreath. Arlowe took Vidyan to meet the local Apothecary, a Redguard woman named Zaria. As a favor to Arlowe, Zaria brought Vidyan back to full health with a few days rest and medicine.

Vidyan had learned the basics of Alchemy from her grandmother. She was taught what different ingredients would do, both those native to Reach and not. During her time in the Reach, she watched the shamans at work and learned what types of ingredients were used for what purpose, even if their work was more spiritual in nature.

During her healing in Falkreath, Zaria taught Vidyan the medicinal side of Alchemy. Zaria explained the process of healing Vidyan's wounds, allowing her to take notes. Their conversations were not always concerned with alchemy.

"You don't seem to have any family in Falkreath, what brought you here?" asked Vidyan.

"Well, my family back in Hammerfell didn't approve of my interest in lethal poisons, and the nature of death in general" replied Zaria. "So, I left and wandered north. When I found Falkreath, I felt right at home."

"I mean, the city is defined by its historical cemetery," she explained. "Falkreath Hold has been the site of many important battles throughout history. Untold numbers of soldiers and civilians perished in this forest. There are many crypts and tombs encasing many powerful warlords in the cemetery. And, of course, I enjoyed the mystique the cemetery brings with it."

"So that explains why you called your store _Grave Concoctions_. Normally, it wouldn't inspire confidence in your poultices and salves, but the city covers for the name," said Vidyan.

While she rested in Falkreath, Vidyan purchased a book about the Legend of the Red Eagle from a traveling trader. She recognized the name and knew it to be a tale about of legendary Reachman, a hero of her people. She knew the basics of the tale but would have to read it at another time.

Vidyan had to leave the city and make her way to Helgen. She was glad to have escaped the bandits at Bannermist and would love to see Odvan again. The town of Helgen was only a few days away from Falkreath, and only slightly smaller.

She arrived in Helgen in the middle of the month of Last Seed. She was unable to find Odvan in the town, but this did not concern her. Even with the Civil War raging in Skyrim and the bandits running amok in every hold, Odvan was with a group of skilled hunters. He would be fine as it was Vidyan on her own that had to be worried in these woods. She stayed in the town for a few days and noticed how the Imperial Legion slowly built up its presence in the town.

Something big was about to happen as the soldiers were tight-lipped but euphoric. The keep was taken over by the Legion when General Tullius arrived at Helgen. The General was the leader of the Imperial army in Skyrim, fighting the war against the Stormcloak Rebellion.

For the past few years, Jarl Ulfric of Windhelm had been stirring up trouble between Skyrim and the Empire. A few months ago, Jarl Ulfric walked into the capital of Skyrim and demanded to duel the High King, Jarl Torygg. It was supposed to be a traditional bout, with no magic, but Jarl Ulfric defied this. He called upon an ancient magic from Skyrim known as the Thu'um and is said to have shouted the High King to death.

One afternoon, everyone drew to streets to watch as a few dozen Stormcloak prisoners were carted into town. It seemed that these were not your ordinary prisoners of war as the leader of the Rebellion was with them. Jarl Ulfric had been captured. They were brought before General Tullius, who addressed their leader.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero," began General Tullius. "But a hero does not use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace."

A loud roar was heard in the distance, which took everyone by surprise. Many of the soldiers were concerned, but General Tullius waved away the interruption. He stepped away from Ulfric and told his men to carry on with the sentencing and the priestess of Arkay began giving the prisoners their last rights before execution.

In the middle of the ceremony, one of the Stormcloak soldiers interrupted and simply walked towards the chopping block. The Legate took her cue and pushed the soldier onto the block and the headsman lobbed off the man's head. Thus, the executions began, but the General wanted to leave Jarl Ulfric for last. The jarl was going to watch as each of his men died in vain.

As the executions continued, the loud roaring was heard multiple times until the Legate finally expressed her own concern. The sentries mentioned that the source was a large creature flying above the clouds. Before the next soldier could be killed, the giant creature fell the sky and landed on top of the keep.

The creature was a black, scaly lizard with wings. As it roared one more time, Vidyan felt something stir from within her. It was almost as if she had heard a voice from within its roar. Suddenly, the sky turned dark orange as meteors fell down and crashed into the ground. Shouts of "Dragon!" were heard as chaos erupted throughout the town.

As the dragon breathed fire across the town, Vidyan's first thought was to run for cover in the stone keep. Her only thought was about her own survival. She did not escape those damned bandits just to be killed by a dragon. Vidyan ran into the fortification's dungeon, where she was met by an irate Legion torturer.

He was concerned with the sudden appearance of so many soldiers in his workspace, and even more so with a civilian wandering into the scene. Vidyan tried to explain the situation, but none of them believed her. They were deep enough into the ground not to hear the chaos outside, and the Imperial soldiers were quick to remind her that dragons have been extinct for millennia.

Their argument was interrupted when a couple of Stormcloak soldiers rushed down the stairs and into the chamber. The two groups of soldiers began fighting and only stopped when Imperial reinforcements came down the stairs, killing the last of the Stormcloaks. This included a Nord named Hadvar, who was one of General Tullius' personal guard. Hadvar was aiding one of the prisoners, a Nord man in rags who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The torturer refused to accept that a dragon was attacking, but the other soldiers accepted the truth at Hadvar's say-so. One of the soldiers mentioned access to a cave from within the dungeons. This cave was designed to act as a sully port for the keep, allowing people in and out if the town was being sieged.

Once the group found themselves in a good, protected chamber, Hadvar took Vidyan and the prisoner to go search for the exit while the other soldiers waited here to aid any other survivors. The cave system was dark and smelled of sulfur, but Vidyan's moonlight spell illuminated the cavern. While following a stream of water, the cave began shaking violently and the passage collapsed. The Nord prisoner was crushed to death, but Vidyan and Hadvar managed to escape.

After fighting off a few frostbite spiders and sneaking past a bear, the two of them finally found their way out of the cave. Looking around, they realized that they were well over a mile from Helgen. In fact, they were on a cliff overlooking the village of Riverwood in Whiterun Hold. Hadvar was badly injured and would not survive long without help, so they left the town of Helgen behind and made their way to Riverwood.


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

06 – The Calm Before the Storm

Back in the City of Falkreath, Vidyan had purchased a book titled _The Legend of the Red Eagle_. She knew this tale as her grandmother told it many times throughout her lifetime. Vidyan could recite her grandmother's version of the tale from memory. The version that she was told made the legendary hero out to be a fanciful story and little more, but this book went into greater detail regarding the legend.

Over three thousand years ago, a legendary hero was born to the Reach. The Priests of the Sundered Hills foresaw his destiny and he was to unite the warring kings who ruled the Reach. This boy was born during the Autumn months and was given the name Faolan, the Red Eagle. The name recalled the reddish hue of the trees at the time and the screeching of an eagle that heralded the boy's birth.

As Faolan grew, he gained power and influence throughout the Reach. One day, Empress Hestra decided to invade the Reach. Her forces marched north from the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, through the Jerall Mountains. The old kings surrendered under the power wielded by the Empress. Finally, her legion had arrived in the Sundered Hills.

Faolan refused to admit the Empress' envoys and chose to fight back. Many of the elders were fearful of their clan's survival and instead cast him from the village. With the Red Eagle exiled, even the Sundered Hills bowed before the First Empire. Undeterred, Faolan gathered his most loyal followers and began attacking the Imperial legions.

Under the Red Eagle, the natives used their knowledge of the land to kill Imperial patrol after patrol. Even still, the Imperial soldiers seemed limitless in number and their garrisons proved nearly impossible to assail. The fight seemed hopeless, until one night when his camp was approached by a shambling figure, cloaked in rags.

His men mocked this feeble intruder and cast stones in her direction. Faolan was the only one to accept this newcomer. When the stranger's cowl was thrown back, the fire illuminated the sallow, sunken face and beak-like nose of the hagravens. She offered him the power to vanquish his foes, but at the price of his humanity. Thus, a pact was brokered.

She called upon the great and mighty Molag Bal, the Lord of Discord, and the hagraven drained him of his blood, cutting out his heart. After hours of mystical ritual, she replaced his heart with a fruit known as the Briar Heart. Inside this fruit was an angry and vengeful spirit that brought the Red Eagle back from the dead, and Faolan became the first Briar-Heart warrior.

After his rebirth, the Red Eagle was merciless and beyond remorse. His resistance grew in strength and numbers, and within two years the Empire had been pushed out of the Reach. Their land was free at last, but this peace did not last long as Empress Hestra returned with even greater force pushed back against his forces.

After two weeks of fighting, the Sundered Hills had fallen and with it, their hero. Faolan the Red Eagle lived no more. But with his death, came a prophecy – an oath – that when their plight was most dire, his people could call upon him again. Bring his Flaming Sword to his tomb, perform the blood-soaked ritual and the Spirit of the Red Eagle will rise once more.

Vidyan did not get around to reading this legend in its fullest glory until her arrival in Helgen. Since her friend, Odvan, had not arrived in town, she opened the book and read its contents. The legend was intriguing, but the prophey even more so. She wanted to get Odvan's point of view on the story before making any judgments about its validity.

Before she even had the chance to rejoin with him, that black dragon attacked the town and she fled alongside an Imperial soldier named Hadvar. The two of them made their way through the keep and out from the adjacent cave system. They now stood on the cliff overlooking the village of Riverwood.

As the two of them stood there, they watched the dragon finish its attack on Helgen before flying south towards the wilderness of Falkreath. As the dragon disappeared over the horizon, Hadvar took a look around for a path back to civilization. During their escape, Hadvar's leg had been broken forcing him to walk with a limp. It was difficult for Vidyan to watch.

"Listen, you should go to Solitude and join up with the Imperial Legion," said Hadvar suddenly. He looked Vidyan over for a few moments before continuing.

"You're capable, a survivor; we could really use someone like you. And if the rebels have themselves a dragon, then General Tullius is the only one who can stop them."

"What do you mean?" asked Vidyan. "Are you trying to suggest that… that thing is an ally of the Jarl Ulfric? I find that hard to believe!"

"Dragons have been extinct since the Merethic Era! And I find it hard to believe that this was just a coincidence. The first dragon anyone's seen for centuries attacks just as Ulfric was about to be executed!"

Vidyan scoffed at such an accusation. "Look, I definitely don't side with their stupid rebellion, but you cannot honestly believe they had a dragon at the ready."

"I… don't know, but if the damn Stormcloaks somehow found one, woke it up… this war might be about to take an ugly turn."

Hadvar fell silent for a few moments as they began their trek down the cliff, towards Riverwood. Their progress was slow due to Hadvar's broken leg. Every step was painful, too painful to even speak. Vidyan kept her silence and helped him along the path. After a while, he spoke up again.

"The village down there, Riverwood. My uncle's the blacksmith there. I'm sure he'll be able to help us out. It's been a while since I've been home."

"Well, at least we'll find friendly faces for when we arrive," responded Vidyan. "Don't try to talk right now, just – let's keep moving."

Neither of them said another word for over an hour as they worked their way down the cliff. They eventually reached the halfway point, which was marked by three intricately carved standing stones. Hadvar motioned for them to stop and leaned against a nearby tree.

"These are the Guardian Stones, three of the thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape. They represent the Guardian Birthsigns of the Mage, Thief, and Warrior. Go ahead and see for yourself."

Vidyan approached the stones, uncertain what he was expecting. She knew of the birthsigns, the thirteen constellations in the heavens that guide you from birth. Twelve of the constellations shine most brightly during one month of the year. These twelve are broken into three groups of four signs. Each group had it own guardian sign, which is larger and more complex. These brithsigns are the Mage, Thief, and Warrior.

Vidyan was born during the month of Rain's Hand, under the power and influence of the Mage himself. The Mage and his wards, the other three constellations, provide greater magickal power to those born under their influence. Unlike the Mage's lesser wards, whose abilities are temperamental, the boons granted to those born in Rain's Hand are the most stable.

Her people, the Reachmen, put little stock in astrology. The activities and nature of the stars are mostly irrelevant to their culture – at least as far as she knows. Even still, Vidyan felt the need to understand the birthsigns as most of the continent believes that they guide one's personality and abilities from birth.

"I was born during the Rain's Hand (April)," spoke Vidyan as she stepped closer to the Mage's Standing Stone. "Mild improvements to my magicka, with none of the drawbacks of the other constellations."

"The Mage, eh? Well, to each her own. It's not for me to judge. By the way, I was born under the Lady."

Hadvar spoke as if his statement was supposed mean something to her. Being born under the Lady implies that he was born in the month of Hearthfire (September) under the Guardian of the Warrior. Hadvar's birthsign presupposes great willpower and personal endurance.

Ignoring his comment, Vidyan turned to face the mountain that marks Falkreath's northern border with Whiterun Hold. Near the mountain's peak was large, ruined structure that caught her eye. Hadvar turned to see what she was looking at.

"Ah, so you see that ruin up there – Bleak Falls Barrow," said Hadvar. "When I was a boy, that place always used to give me nightmares. Draugr creeping down the mountain to climb through my window at night, that kind of thing."

Vidyan was about to ask him what he meant by Draugr, but he had already turned back onto the path. He took a deep breath, steadying himself before saying: "Come on, we're almost to Riverwood."

It took nearly another hour before they arrived in the village, which rested along the White River that carved its way through Whiterun Hold and Eastmarch. Hadvar directed them to his uncle's smithy, near the center of the village. His uncle, Alvor, helped Hadvar onto a bed in the house and listened to their tale.

As Hadvar and Vidyan explained what happened, Alvor's wife and daughter came to listen. The three of them were terrified to hear what happened but offered to provide them rest for the time being. As Hadvar rested in bed, Alvor motioned for Vidyan to follow him outside. He took her sword and worked on it at the grindstone.

After he finished, he turned back to Vidyan and said: "Like I said, I'm glad to help in any way I can, but I need your help. We need your help. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless… We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever reinforcements he can."

"I can do that," replied Vidyan. "The Jarls need to know. So, where should I find him?"

"Cross the river and then head north. You'll see it, it's just past the falls. When you get to Whiterun, just keep going up. At the top of the hill is Dragonsreach, the Jarl's keep."

Vidyan agreed to help and left the village at first light the next morning. Alvor's directions seemed vague at first, but once she made it the waterfall the Hold opened into a large open plain before her. On a hill in the center of this vast plain was the city of Whiterun. For almost two days, Vidyan passed through farming village after farming village until she reached the city walls.

Talk of dragons had spread faster than she traveled and by the time she arrived in Whiterun, the Jarl had closed down the city from outsiders until the safety of the citizens could be established. If she had not come calling for the aid of Riverwood, the guards would likely not have let her inside. She was given an escort and guided directly to the Jarl's keep.

The guards brought her to the gates of the structure but refused to enter. Instead, they simply turned back and returned to their posts. Vidyan took a couple of deep breaths to prepare herself before striding confidently into the Jarl's great hall. At the end of the room, the Jarl sat on his throne while debating with some of his courtiers.

As she walked towards them, she noticed that they were discussing the rumors of what happened at Helgen. A ranking guard tried to stop Vidyan's approach, but she simply pushed the guard aside. As Vidyan came close, the Jarl held up his hand to silence his courtiers and addressed her directly.

"Well, I trust that you have something vitally important to tell me. Something important enough to interrupt me in the middle of council?"

"A dragon destroyed Helgen," replied Vidyan. "The blacksmith, Alvor, is afraid that the village is next."

"Alvor is a reliable, solid fellow. He's not prone to flights of fancy," muttered the Jarl. "You're sure that Helgen was destroyed _by a dragon_? You're sure this wasn't some Stormcloak raid gone wrong?"

"I was there at Helgen, and the Imperial Legion had captured Jarl Ulfric. General Tullius planned to execute him in the town, but… then the dragon attacked."

"I should have guessed that Ulfric would be mixed up in all this." The Jarl sighed before turning back to his courtiers. The group debated back and forth until Jarl Balgruuf agreed to send a group of soldiers to protect the village.

The Jarl then turned his attention back to Vidyan. "What's your name, young Breton?"

"My name is Vidyan Birene," replied Vidyan. "I hail from the Reach."

"Well done. You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it." Jarl Balgruuf paused for a moment, thinking something over.

"There is another thing you could do for me," continued the Jarl. "Suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and... rumors of dragons."

Jarl Balgruuf stood up and beckoned for Vidyan to follow him to the right wing of the longhouse. This wing was clearly a study or library with the many books and instruments lining the walls. In the center of the room was a large, L-shaped table littered with diagrams written in an unknown script. Behind this desk was a Nord man dressed in bright blue robes. He was preoccupied with the papers littering his desk and failed to notice when the two of them walked into the study.

"Farengar," began the Jarl. "I think that I found someone to help you with the dragon project."

Suddenly, the Nord looked up in surprise. He stared at Jarl Balgruuf for a few moments while he processed the Jarl's words. Suddenly, his face shone with glee as he looked around the room. Only then did he notice Vidyan's presence.

"So, the Jarl thinks you can be of use to me?" asked Farengar. "Oh yes, he must be referring to my research into the dragons. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me – an ancient, stone tablet said to located deep within an ancient ruin."

Vidyan ignored him for a moment while she looked over some of the papers on his desk. It was not the common, Cyrodilic script nor was it Daedric script. Similarly, Vidyan was not aware of any written language among the Reachman. All the same, this strange script, and the words written on the pages felt familiar as if they were trying to speak to her. After a few moments, she looked up at Farengar and responded.

"Was this stone tablet carved by the same group whose language you're researching? What exactly would this tablet and these people have to do with dragons?"

A smile grew on Farengar's lips as he replied. "Ah, no mere brute mercenary, but a thinker – perhaps even a scholar? You see, when the stories of dragons began to circulate, many dismissed them as mere fantasies, rumors. Impossibilities. One sure mark of a fool is to dismiss anything that falls outside his experience as being impossible. But I began to search for information about dragons - where had they gone all those years ago? And where were they coming from?"

"There is a language said to have been spoken by the dragons called Dovahzul," continued Farengar, his voice feverish. "So, you see, this language is the language of dragons… or so the legends say. Regardless, the tablet that I mentioned is known as a Dragonstone. It is a map of dragon burial sites said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow."

"You want me to recover this stone and bring it back to you?" asked Vidyan.

"That is the gist of the task, yes. The Dragonstone is no doubt interred in the barrow's main chamber. Just obtain it and return to me. Simplicity itself."

Vidyan turned to speak with the Jarl to find that he had already left the room. It was as if the Jarl simply expected her to accept this task without question. Looking back towards the great hall, she thought about her situation for a moment. Vidyan cared little for the squabbles of Nords. She needed to return back to the Reach and her people needed a leader, someone to help free their land once more. It is what her people desire; what their teachings demand of them.

For that, they need a leader to unite them – and what better a leader than a legendary hero? She put her hand in her bag and retrieved the _Legend of the Red Eagle_ from within. She wished to have Odvan's take on her idea, but he is not here. Making up her mind, Vidyan turned to the court wizard and made her demands.

"I will go and retrieve this tablet for you, allowing you to push your own research forward. In return, all I ask is that you look over this legend."

Farengar took the book in his hands began flipping through it as Vidyan continued: "This is a legend of my people, but I know little of my homeland – the Reach. I don't know its geography and landmarks. If you can identify the location of any place mentioned in the legend, you will get this Dragonstone within the week."

Farengar remained silent as he began reading the first few pages of the text. A few moments passed before he looked up, bewildered. He was confused why Vidyan was still standing there as he had implicitly accepted her request.

"Just go," said Farengar. "When you return with the stone, then I may have something for you. Just leave me to do my work."

Vidyan left the Jarl's home and paid for lodging at an inn in the city. The next morning, she began her return trip to Riverwood where she hoped to locate the barrow. She had little need to ask the court wizard where to find Bleak Falls Barrow as the soldier, Hadvar, pointed it out on their way to Riverwood. So, she knew that she could ask the locals for more specific directions.

She was aware that she was walking into an unknown location in Bleak Falls Barrow, where there was likely to be danger around every corner. Vidyan had to prepare if she had any chance of survival during this endeavor. She bought a few potion vials and ingredients from the city's apothecary before heading out. She then spent a spent a few extra hours each day collecting various ingredients from the local landscape during her return to Riverwood.

Back in the wooded village, she stayed the night at Alvor the Blacksmith's home and prepared a collection of medicines. Vidyan created a few healing poultices out of garlic, various fungi, and torchbugs (fireflies). Then she produced a couple of pain-relief potions made of crushed mountain flowers, bird eggs, and wheat. Finally, she made a few potions to stimulate her mind out of the various flowers in the environment.

The following morning, she started asking around the village for information concerning the barrow. The villagers easily gave her directions to the tomb, but she was more concerned with learning what sort of dangers she might face within. This task seemed slightly more difficult as very few of the villagers actually traveled to the barrow.

Although unwilling to openly talk, the local trader had information about the barrow. The shop was owned and operated by Lucan Valerius and his sister Camilla. Vidyan stopped by the shop during her last visit to Riverwood with Hadvar. When she came to buy supplies for her trip to Whiterun, the two shopkeepers seemed quite agitated. This time, when Vidyan stopped by the store to ask questions, she found the siblings in the middle of an argument.

"Well, one of us has to do something!" exclaimed Camilla.

"I said no! No adventures, no thief chasing," said Lucan.

"Well, what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!"

"We're done talking about this. Just leave it be –"

Lucan stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that Vidyan had entered the store. He held up his hand to silence his sister. Camilla shot a glance at Vidyan and walked to the other side of the room.

"Sorry you had to hear that," chimed Lucan. "I don't know what you overheard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open for business!"

Vidyan hesitated a moment before responding: "May I ask what that was about? You spoke of a thief?"

"Yes, we did have a bit of a… break-in. But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw."

"I might be able to help you out… Do you – do you know where these thieves are hiding out?" inquired Vidyan.

Lucan's face lit up with glee. "Oh, you could? I've got some coin coming in from my last shipment. It's yours if you can get my claw back…"

Lucan suddenly fell quiet before continuing. "If you're going after those thieves… you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow on the northeast of town."

"So, this is plan, Lucan?" asked Camilla.

"Yes, so now you don't have to go."

"Oh, really. Well, I think your new friend here needs a guide."

"Oh, by the eight, fine!" exclaimed Lucan. "But only to the edge of town."

Camilla walked up and grabbed Vidyan's arm, dragging her outside the shop. The two of them stepped out into the road and Camilla began talking about the barrow and its bandits.

"We have to go through the village and across the river to get to Bleak Falls Barrow. You can see it from here though, the mountain just over the buildings. Those thieves must be mad, hiding out there. Those old crypts are filled with traps, trolls, and who knows what else," explained Camilla.

Camilla then started walking back towards the north end of the village, towards the bridge. As they walked, Camilla continued talking about the situation, drawing strange looks from her fellow villagers. She talked about how strange it was that the bandits only stole the golden claw as they had other wares worth just as much.

"Lucan found the claw about a year after we opened up shop here in Riverwood," said Camilla. "He never quite explained how he got it. My brother's a tricky one."

After crossing the bridge, Camilla pointed towards a path through the woods that lead up into the mountains. She mentioned that there should be an ancient Nord tower about halfway. Camilla then lamented that she should return to her brother. "He'll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child…"

As Camilla crossed the river once more and returned to the village, Vidyan readied her bow and slowly made her way up the mountain. She did not like the idea of having to hunt down a group of bandits, but it had to be done. They are killing and thieving – ruining the lives of the innocent – and she needed that Dragonstone for Jarl Balgruuf and his wizard, Farengar.


	7. Bleak Falls Barrow

07 – Bleak Falls Barrow

Her journey up the mountain was mostly uneventful. She saw a few wild animals and killed a couple of wolves but saw not a single other human for most of the journey. Even still, she refused to let her guard down. As she climbed the mountain, the air became colder and her breaths formed a light fog before her. She was simply glad that winter had not come in full yet, and thus the mountain was not covered in snow.

When she saw the tower that Camilla mentioned, Vidyan hid amongst the shrubs and bushes along the path and snuck up to the settlement, watching for signs of life. There seemed to be about five or so bandits in the area, all of whom being concentrated in the tower itself. Vidyan waited in place for a while, watching as the bandits went about their daily routine.

_There's one at the top of the tower as a lookout_, thought Vidyan. _He probably has a bow, possibly magic. There is another leaning against a tree outside the tower acting as a sentry. _

The tower is too tall for Vidyan to see any detail on the lookout. This sentry is wearing some sort of studded hide armor with a sword strapped to his side. She remained hidden among the flora as she snuck around the tower, trying to move closer to entrance.

She made a little too much noise and the sentry took notice. Vidyan stopped moving and remained silent as the man looked around for a moment before returning to his post. With her discovery averted, Vidyan moved a little closer to see into the tower's gate. Her estimate was a little off. Earlier, she thought she heard many voices from within, but it is clearly only two bandits inside the tower.

_There are only four of them, and I have an enchanted bow_, thought Vidyan. _I have killed in cold blood, and these bandits need to die. They must die._

As she sat there thinking to herself, one of the bandits walked outside to speak with the sentry. This bandit wore heavily-patched fur clothing and held a wooden hunting bow by her side. The sight of this bandit frightened Vidyan for a moment as she knows how dangerous arrows can be.

_At the same time, if I can catch this archer off-guard – kill her now – then I can focus on the sentry while he searches for me. Run inside and kill the fourth bandit before taking out the lookout. Okay, I can do this._

As she justified her actions and planned her attack, the archer turned away from the sentry and started walking back. Vidyan had to act now and pulled an arrow from her quiver. She aimed at the tower gate, ready to release the arrow right as the bandit came near it.

The arrow shot straight across the path in clear view of the sentry and found its target. As the archer fell to the ground, grabbing at her frostbitten abdomen, Vidyan drew another arrow and shot the sentry. The sentry shouted for help as the arrow pierced his shoulder. As his hide armor coated itself in ice, Vidyan shot a third arrow and felled the sentry.

Vidyan darted across the path and into the shadow of the tower, hiding her from the lookout. She drew yet another arrow and killed the fourth bandit as he ran to help his allies. Vidyan punched the first archer in the face as she strode into the tower. After neutralizing the lookout, Vidyan came back down and took the archer's quiver of arrows.

"I can make your death quick or I can let you bleed out," said Vidyan. "It's up to you and all I want to know is how many of your friends might I find at the barrow?"

"There are nine more of us, and we've got a few dogs. They'll kill you before you get close," replied the archer.

"Thank you. I'm sorry that I don't know any healing magic, but I won't let you suffer."

Vidyan drew her bow back one more time and shot an icy arrow into the archer's neck. Her throat froze instantly, and the bandit could no longer breathe. In less than a minute, she was dead. As the archer died, Vidyan stood there, horrified by her actions.

_This has to be done. They're bandits for fuck's sake! They deserve to die…_

Even still, Vidyan felt a pit in her stomach at the mere thought of her actions here today. She has killed, and planned to kill, many people just to retrieve a stone tablet for some Nord. After a few minutes had passed, Vidyan forced herself to continue. The higher she traveled up the mountain, the colder the air became until the point that she was shivering.

Although cold and tired, Vidyan knew that she could not simply travel the main path and chose instead to climb the rocks and take the high ground. From Riverwood, she could see that there was a ridge that overlooked Bleak Falls Barrow. Now, Vidyan planned to use it as vantage point to scout the area ahead.

As she made it to the top of the ridge, Bleak Falls Barrow appeared before her. It was a large, artificial stone platform overlooking the village of Riverwood. There was a steep staircase set into the platform connected to the mountain path. It looked as if the platform once had a roof covering it, but all that remains are pillars and the occasional arch.

At the far back of the platform was a single chamber still partially covered by the crumbling roof. In the center of the platform was a pit with a roaring fire providing warmth and illumination as the sun sets. Vidyan could easily identify three of the bandits and two dogs by the fire pit. Scanning the platform, she located two other bandits both armed with bows acting as sentries.

_There's no chance that I can shoot them from here_, thought Vidyan._ If I move too close then the dogs will smell me, ruining the element of surprise. And of course, that staircase leads directly to the fire pit._

After a few moments of deliberation, Vidyan found a section of the ridge close enough to the platform for her to jump atop it. Once on the platform, she hid behind a nearby pillar and searched for the nearby sentry. Knowing that she had to be quick, Vidyan sent an arrow through his neck before rushing towards the fire pit.

While running, she shot both of the dogs as they ran straight towards her. This left only the three bandits and their archer sentinel. After dispatching the dogs, Vidyan tossed her bow aside and drew her sword. As expected, the archer chose not to shoot into his allies and instead held his bow at the ready.

Vidyan shot a blast of fire towards two of the bandits, while she strafed around. With two of them distracted, she cut the legs out from under the third bandit. As the bandit fell, she had to duck to avoid being shot by the archer. She ran between the two remaining bandits, avoiding their swords. As she strafed behind one bandit, striking his knee, the other bandit cut into her arm with his sword.

Vidyan tossed another bout of flame at the standing bandit before rushing forward and thrusting her sword into his abdomen. Retracting her sword, she threw one of the living bandits into the fire pit as she dashed for her bow.

As the last bandit limped down the stairs, it came down to a one-on-one duel between Vidyan and the archer. The two of them traded shots dashing from pillar to pillar. Vidyan's arrows all shot wide, not even coming close to striking the archer. On the other hand, the archer kept coming very close with his shots, grazing her a few times.

It was not long before the archer ran out of arrows. After grabbing a full quiver from the tower below, Vidyan had arrows to spare. Seeing himself suddenly at a disadvantage, the archer dropped his bow and ran down the stairs after his ally. Exhausted from the effort, Vidyan steadied herself on a nearby pillar and took a few deep breaths.

After calming down, Vidyan ran back to the first sentry and grabbed his quiver – replenishing her ammunition. She then looted the bodies, just in case she found the golden claw for Lucan and Camilla. She really did not care about the claw, but it they are willing to pay then it might be worthwhile to return it.

After drinking a few potions and wrapping her wounded arm in strips of cloth, Vidyan walked into the surviving above-ground chamber. Inside, she found a dead bandit on the entrance. It looked as if he had been stabbed in the back. As she began sneaking across the chamber, Vidyan heard voices drawing nearer. Hiding behind a nook on the edge of the chamber, she watched two more bandits wander into the chamber from below.

"So, we're just supposed to sit here while Arvel runs off with the claw?" asked a female Nord. "I want my share from that thing!"

"If that Dark Elf wants to go on ahead, then let him. It's better than us risking our necks!" exclaimed her male friend.

"Damn that, what if he doesn't return? And we risked our necks for nothing?"

"Just shut it and keep an eye out for trouble," mumbled the man.

Vidyan ignored these two bandits and simply slipped past them. If their words are to be believed, then there should only be one more inside the barrow. She snuck down the stairs and carried on her way. The pathways below had mostly caved in, but eventually she came to a large chamber illuminated by torches. In the center of the room was a dead bandit lying next to a lever. The man was pelted by darts and likely died of poison.

At the other end of the room was a closed, iron gate. She looked around the chamber and found a collection of spinning pillars with symbols carved into them. As she spun the pillars, only one symbol would be visible on it at a time. It was clear that these pillars were a locking mechanism holding the gate in place. If she were to pull the lever without the code, she would perish just like the other bandit.

_I have to act quickly_, thought Vidyan._ If those bandits come down here to check in, then I'm dead. There's nothing really here, but… a bookcase._

Opposite from the spinning pillars was a large, decaying bookcase filled with rotting books and rolls of parchment. The ink on the pages had long since faded and there was nothing else of interest on the shelves. Disappointed, Vidyan noticed the symbols carved into the stonework above the gate.

The ancient Nords had carved a relief into the wall. As she examined it, she noticed two strangely shaped snakes and a large fish resembling the symbols on the pillars. Immediately, Vidyan rotated the pillars to represent the arrangement on the relief and pulled the lever. A few moments passed before the gate began to rise into the stone wall above.

Vidyan quickly spun the pillars one more time, losing the code, and moved into the new chamber. She then pulled another lever that lowered the gate behind her, removing the threat posed by the other bandits. So, now it is just her, that bandit named Arvel, and whatever traps the ancient Nords left behind.

After flipping through the books and journals laying on a table in the chamber, Vidyan walked down the spiral staircase. She had to kill a few skeevers (giant rats) in the next few chambers before she heard a voice calling out. As she came closer, she found herself in a chamber brightly lit from a hole in the ceiling, allowing the setting sun to shine through.

This chamber unnerved her as it was covered in cobwebs. In fact, she needed to cut through some of the webbing just to pass through a couple of doorways on her way in. At the other end of the illuminated chamber, Vidyan saw a Dark Elf in hide armor trapped in a web spanning another doorway.

As the room suddenly darkened, the man yelled in terror. "Here it comes again, kill it!" Immediately, Vidyan drew her sword and readied her fire spell while a giant frostbite spider jumped down from the hole. Although the spider bit her, she powered through its poison and struck it down. As she let her fire finish it off, she turned her attention to the Dark Elf.

"You did it. You killed it," the man called out. "Now cut me down before anything else shows up."

"How about you tell me where I can find this golden claw first?" demanded Vidyan.

"Yes, the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."

She used her sword to cut Arvel down and release him from the spiderwebs. Before she could say anything, the Dark Elf ripped her sword from hands and ran deeper, into the catacombs. Vidyan gave chase through the following chambers but was unable to close the gap between them. After shooting a glance at Vidyan, Arvel suddenly stopped as a spiked gate swung around the chamber, skewering him.

As the gate swung back into position, Vidyan slowed down to catch her breath when she heard a noise coming from behind her. She turned around to find herself facing an undead, Nord warrior with an axe held above his head. Vidyan dove to the ground to avoid being cut open and scrambled for her sword. Armed once again, Vidyan got to her feet and looked around to find herself surrounded by three undead Nords

_What the fuck are these things?_ wondered Vidyan._ I thought the Nords simply had traps and crap, but the undead. What in Oblivion?_

To her surprise, these undead Nords were easy to dispatch. They lacked any real strength and died with only a few minor strikes. She then looted Arvel's body and retrieved the golden claw. She soon realized that all the other chambers were also filled with these undead beings. After a time, she fought her way through the catacombs and found herself at a dead end.

This seemingly final chamber had even more reliefs carved into the stonework. The images depicted various strange events – the ascension of gods, the transformation of people into dragons. At the end of the hall were a couple of stone disks placed into the wall. They spun around and had symbols carved into them. In the center of the disks was a strange paw print reminiscent of the dragon claw.

She took a closer look at the claw to find a series of symbols carved into its palm. Spinning the disks to match the claw, she then pressed the claw into the center and the puzzle door fell away. Inside was one of the largest chambers in the barrow, with holes in the ceiling above. However, night had surely fallen and if it was not for her moonlight spell, Vidyan would be in total darkness.

As she made her way into the main chamber, she could hear the bats waking up and flying out of the cave. Somewhere in the darkness were the sounds of water trickling across the stone floor. In the center of this ancient chamber was a raised mound with a sarcophagus resting atop it.

When Vidyan moved to investigate the sarcophagus, something else caught her attention. As she came close, her moonlight spell illuminated a large stone wall with a strange script carved into it. This script was unlike anything else in the barrow. No, this was the script that the court wizard, Farengar, mentioned.

She could not read a single word on the wall, but the text spoke to her regardless. It was as if something was chanting an incantation in the back of her mind. The incantation was repeated on loop until one word rang out like a gong

_FUS_, thought Vidyan. _FUS means force – power. How… why do I know this? Why do these words speak to me?_

Vidyan moved closer to the wall and put her hand on the symbol she knew to mean _force_. This made no sense, she belonged to the Reach and her people have been at war with the Nords for millennia. Why do their words and their legends mean something to her?

A noise from behind shook her from her stupor. It was the sound of stone sliding across stone. Vidyan turned to find the stone sarcophagus being pushed open from the inside. Another undead being rose from its slumber, picked up its nearby great-axe, and attacked.

Unlike all the others, this one was powerful. Its attacks were harder to parry, and it dodged her moves with ease. Its mere presence froze the air around her, slowing Vidyan's movements. Even still, she could fight back and force death upon it. If this undead Nord was using magic to freeze the air, she would respond with fire.

She stepped back from the being and began spouting fire in its direction. The undead Nord was undeterred by her attacks and pushed forward regardless, but Vidyan only turned to melee combat as a last resort. However, the undead Nord seemed resistant to her spells and she quickly drained her magicka. As her fire waned, the being rushed forward and overpowered her defense.

With a powerful, sideways strike, the undead Nord swung its great-axe, carving deep into her abdomen. The axe slammed against her pelvis, cracking the bone, before the Nord pulled it back for another swing. The force of this attack brought Vidyan to the ground as the undead Nord raised its axe over its head and brought it down with full force.

She rolled aside, avoiding the axe by mere inches. As its great-axe lodged into the cracks in the stone floor, the undead Nord called upon a new form of magic. It shouted a word that Vidyan did not catch and the force of this spell threw her from the raised mound. Her sword went flying, her arrows scattered over the floor, and two of her potion vials broke open.

With the contents of the potions dripping down her side, Vidyan slowly pulled herself to her feet. She reached for her potions, to find only one still intact, its contents a muddy blue sludge – her mental stimulant. She uncorked the vial and drank its contents and felt her body become infused with enough magicka to keep fighting back.

As the undead Nord jumped from the mound and ran towards her, she began casting her fire magic as she ran backwards from it. By the time she had made it back onto the mound, the undead Nord had burnt to a crisp and collapsed to the ground. With her foe finally vanquished, Vidyan turned towards the stone sarcophagus and located the altar nearby. Resting on the altar was the stone tablet she had come for – the Dragonstone.

With the Dragonstone in hand, Vidyan recollected her weapons and arrows and worked her way back out of the tomb. Unexpectedly, not a single bandit crossed her path out of the barrow. Supposing them to be hiding out in the tower below, Vidyan rested near the exterior fire pit and wrapped her medicinal poultice around her abdomen, pressing its sludge against her wound.

She remained awake the whole night and only returned to the village after the sun had risen. On her trip down the mountain, she fashioned herself a walking stick from a fallen branch and used it to support her weight under her injuries. Back in the village, she made a point to return the golden claw back Lucan Valerius.

As she opened the door to the Riverwood Trader, Vidyan heard a familiar voice haggling with the shopkeeper. This voice belonged to none other than Odvan from Markarth.

"Odvan," said Vidyan, her every breath paining her. "Is that really you?"

At the sound of his name, the Reachman turned to face her. The sight of Vidyan pleased him. Strangely, her wounded state seemed not to faze him.

"My dear, dear Vidyan. It's so nice to see you again. I was wondering when we might meet again. I'm sure you've heard about Helgen?"

She held up her finger to silence Odvan for a moment and addressed the shopkeeper.

"I gave those bandits the fight of their lives. Here's your _damn_ golden claw back. You would not imagine what that thing does."

"I imagine that it opens some locked door in the barrow, am I wrong?" replied Lucan. Upon taking hold of the claw, Lucan continues: "Well, there it is… Strange, it seems smaller than I remember. Funny thing, huh? Well, you've done a great thing for me and my sister."

As Lucan handed her a pouch containing 60 gold septims, Vidyan waved for Odvan to follow her out. Once outside, Odvan began talking, resuming their previous conversation.

"Well, something destroyed Helgen. People are talking about a dragon, but I don't know. I'm just glad to know that I still able to find you."

"It was a dragon that destroyed Helgen. I was there and I fought against it. In fact, that's what this stone is for. It's supposed to be a map of dragon burial sites that I recovered for the court wizard in Whiterun."

Vidyan handed the Dragonstone to Odvan and asked him to carry for her. The two of them began their journey to the city of Whiterun. This journey took a few days longer than normal so that Vidyan would be given a chance to recover from her wounds. On the way back, she told Odvan of her plans.

"In Falkreath, I found this book, detailing a legend of our people. Tell me, have you heard of Faolan the Red Eagle?" After Odvan acknowledged that he had, Vidyan continued. "Well, part of the legend talks of a prophecy to revive him – bring him back to retake our lands, where he would rule forevermore."

"It's just a legend. Nothing more," responded Odvan.

"There are mages practicing necromancy – they bring back the dead all the time. Even some of our people are known to practice the art. And let's not forget that dragons were extinct, but now they're back," said Vidyan. "One sure mark of a fool is to dismiss anything that falls outside his experience as being impossible."

"Well, whatever. I guess I'll just believe it when I see it," said Odvan.

It was past noon by the time they arrived at Dragonsreach, the Jarl's keep. Vidyan had failed to keep to her promise to the court wizard – it took her eight days to retrieve the Dragonstone and bring it to him. However, he did not seem to notice the discrepancy. It iwas almost as if time held little meaning for Farengar.

After giving the Dragonstone to the wizard, he provided a rough map of the Reach with two locations labeled on it. The Reach is laid out in a fashion that includes the mountains and hills that surround the Karth River valley. One of the labels marked the bend in the river with the name of Karthspire. It was a singular mountain that existed on an island within the river. A bit north of the island mountain was a collection of hills with a black box simply labeled _Sundered Towers_.

Farengar then directed Vidyan to Jarl, who asked her to come back in the morning. He would like the formally thank her with a few gifts from his armory. She had confirmed the existence of the dragon and tracked down the stone that Farengar needed for his research. She had done more than enough to help Whiterun.

The following morning, Vidyan and Odvan returned to the keep to indulge Jarl Balgruuf. Right as their meeting began, one of the ranking city guards barged into the great hall. It was the Jarl's personal Housecarl, the Dark Elf named Irileth.

Another guard followed behind her with a terrified look on his face. Irileth sent the other guard to stand before the jarl while she collected Farengar from his study. With the three of them standing before Jarl Balgruuf, Irileth started her explanation.

"This man was stationed at the Western Watchtower." Irileth turned to address the guard. "Tell him what you told me, about the dragon."

"Uh… that's right," mumbled the guard. "We saw it coming from the south. It was fast… faster than anything I've ever seen."

"What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?" asked Jarl Balgruuf.

"No, my lord. Just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life… I thought that it would come after me for sure."

"Good work, son. We'll take from here," said the jarl. "Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it." Addressing his housecarl: "Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."

"I've already ordered my men to muster by the main gate," said Irileth. "We're ready to move on your order."

The jarl then turned back to face Vidyan with sorrow in his eyes. "There's no time to stand on ceremony, my friend. I need your help again. I _need_ you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. Unfortunately, you have more experience than anyone else here."

Irileth grabbed Vidyan by the neck and dragged her down the great hall. Vidyan motioned for Odvan to follow, but he stood rooted to the floor as she was pressed into fighting yet another dragon. This time, it seemed that the goal was to kill it.


	8. Thane of Whiterun

08 – Thane of Whiterun

Odvan watched in complete silence as Vidyan was marched straight out of Dragonsreach and through the city. He knew the extent of her wounds but sat by as she was whisked off to danger once more. It was obvious that neither of them wished to fight this dragon, but he was left out of the fight while she was forced into it.

Vidyan tried to reason with the jarl's Housecarl, but she would not hear it. "I will need all the men that I can muster, and your experience is paramount," Irileth said.

There was a large group of soldiers and peasants alike that was grouped near the city gates. Irileth dragged Vidyan to the drawbridge that lead out of the city before turning to address these men. It was impossible to count, but it seemed that she had mustered well over one hundred men. Irileth held Vidyan in place while she gave her speech:

"The rumors are true, and dragons have returned. We don't know how, but they're here – threatening our land, our families, and our children. If they're not killed quickly, entire villages may be lost, and untold numbers will die. One of these beasts has been sighted in the west, halfway between Whiterun and Greymoor. I do not know what to expect from this fight – in fact, I am not yet certain that it can be killed. I have never faced off against such a beast, but this woman has. She is a survivor from Helgen, who has volunteered to lend us her experience against these dragons…"

With that final sentence, Irileth grew quiet as she turned to Vidyan. She gestured for Vidyan to step forward and address the men mustered in the courtyard. When Vidyan hesitated, Irileth pushed her forward, towards the restless and terrified men. With a quick glance at Irileth, Vidyan stammered her way through a speech of sorts.

"Yes – yes, I was at Helgen. I will… spare you the details of what happened that day. Instead – instead I will focus on the d-dragon itself. Um, I doubt that this is the same beast, since… since that one is likely still flying through Falkreath…"

As she gave her speech, Vidyan's words began to fail her. She paused for a moment as thinking back to that day terrified her. It was an event to which Vidyan never wished to return. In fact, she had blocked out the details of the blood, gore, and unmotivated violence.

"However, they are large, winged lizards with scales as hard as diamond. Um, even the arrows shot from General Tullius' personal – his personal guard barely affected the creature. And yes, they breathe fire, but more that… Look, I don't know how many of us will walk away from this alive, but the Housecarl is right."

Vidyan quickly walked back to Irleth and mumbled something about not being good talking to groups. Irileth patted her on the back before giving one final address to the men before departing. As the men charged forward, ready to fight, she caught sight of Odvan at the back of the group watching from behind the portcullis.

The throng of people was too strong, and she was pushed along with them. As a group, they left the city proper and traveled along the road towards the Reach. It did not take long before Irileth found Vidyan again and pulled her to towards the front of the group. A few hours passed and the group arrived at the village in question.

Although there were no signs of the dragon at the moment, it was obvious that it had been there. Many of the buildings were ablaze and many villagers lay dead. It did appear that a majority of them had managed to flee the village. Perhaps the dragon was currently hunting them down. Regardless, the group was split up into groups of ten and sent to cover as much of the village as possible.

Irileth left Vidyan with the largest group of 20 men while she took another group to the Watchtower, which currently laid in ruins. As Irileth walked away, Vidyan's group looked to her in silence, waiting for instructions. With no degree of certainty, she started doling out jobs. A number of them were ordered onto the roofs of the larger buildings to act as lookouts. Others were sent to look for survivors or supplies.

A short while passed without incident as the men grew restless. They now had confirmation that dragons existed and were in a village destroyed by one. It was apparent that they wished to avenge their fellow Nords, but Vidyan knew not what to do. She simply turned towards the watchtower, waiting for Irileth to return.

Eventually, horns were blown as the dragon flew into view from behind the tower. Its fiery breath scorched what was left of the village and killed many of the men. Vidyan ordered for her group to shoot the dragon while she moved herself into better position. She climbed to the top of the nearest building and drew her enchanted bow.

As expected, the arrows shot by the others were ineffective against the dragon, but Vidyan's arrows had an effect. Whether it was the orcish craftmanship and draw-weight or the enchantment was not readily apparent, but before long the beast had singled out her group in the center of the village. The problem was, Vidyan had run out of arrows by then.

Recognizing her own success, she began assaulting her men and taking their arrows for herself. This strategy did not amount to many more shots from her own bow, but the cumulative effects of her shots angered the dragon. It took notice of her and shot a spout of fire in Vidyan's direction. She jumped from the building but was still caught in the blaze, searing her wounded side.

She leaped before she looked and slammed herself into the walls of the other building. As she fell to the ground, her bow landed many feet away, though she was too hurt to care. These past few days have been a living nightmare for Vidyan as she now laid in a crumpled heap, badly wounded and severely burned. Her emotions finally got the better of her as she broke down and sobbed loudly in the alley.

_Please, don't let this be the end_, pleaded Vidyan. _Malak, the Warrior God, and patron to outcasts, please hear my plea – hear me and show me the strength to fight this pain. This dragon will not be my end, and I don't want to flee in terror – to flee ever again._

She managed to get ahold of herself eventually and took stock of her surroundings. Her bow was still nearby, in in fact it landed atop a dead body – a body with a nearly full quiver of arrows. As she made her way to the body, she found it nearly impossible to move her sword arm, the burns were too severe. She pushed through the pain and traded the guard's quiver for her own and sat for a few moments, thinking.

Suddenly, a guard ran into the alley, screaming in terror. With sudden stroke of inspiration, Vidyan stood up and slammed him against the wall.

"I don't care if you choose to desert but take my bow for a second." As Vidyan backed away from the guard, she released her bow and handed him an arrow. She then held her sword arm outstretched and sighed. "Now, nock the arrow and shoot me in the hand."

The guard was hesitant at first but shot the arrow after the dragon let out a roar. As she recoiled in pain, the guard threw her bow onto the ground and ran off. Within moments of the arrow lodging itself into her skin, her forearm was coated in a thin layer of ice. Before long, the arrow wound was more painful than the blistering burns and she was even able to wiggle her fingers freely.

With a few deep breaths, Vidyan ran from alley and towards the village center, where she found Irileth trying to engage the dragon in melee combat. Using Irileth's distraction, Vidyan risked moving into range of the creature. In fact, she made her way right beneath it and crouched on the ground.

After flexing her arm one last time, Vidyan let loose a number of arrows that lodged into the dragon's neck. With each arrow, the dragon's movements were slower and slower. Although it seemed resistant to her bow's enchantment, by the time her fifth arrow had been shot the dragon was dead.

As the beast fell limp, the survivors gathered in the village center. They had only a moment of respite before the dragon's body was suddenly engulfed in golden light. As they watched, its body shrunk in size as its scales, muscles, and bones started fading from existence. As they watched, the dragon transformed into some ethereal power that moved towards them all. Many fled, but Vidyan was too exhausted to move as the light singled her out.

As the light filled her body, she felt her burns lessening and her cuts stitching themselves back together. Even though it healed many of her wounds, it caused a strange swelling in the back of her throat that threatened to suffocate her until suddenly that word from Bleak Falls Barrow sprang to mind – _the dragon word for force_.

Without a single thought passing through her mind, Vidyan shouted "_FUS_" with enough force to shake the building in front of her. Her voice was strong enough to cause many of the remaining dragon bones to fall from the roof and hit the ground with a loud crack. As the surge of power began to wane, she began noticing the men watching her with keen interest.

"Wh-what the?" said one of guards. "You… you're dragonborn, aren't you?"

Bewildered, Vidyan responded: "Come again?"

"My pa told stories of the mythical dragonborn – a person able to slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did, didn't you? You stole that dragon's power!"

When Vidyan failed to respond, another man spoke up: "You couldn't do that before, right? You know – you shook that building with your voice. You shouted the bones off the roof and only a dragonborn can shout without training!"

"I don't have a clue what you Nords are going on about," replied Vidyan. "I don't know what just happened, so you could you please start making sense?"

Before the men could respond, Irileth spoke up. "Some of you would be better off keeping your mouth shut than flapping your gums on matters you know nothing about. What matters is that we proved these dragons can be killed. I don't need some mythical dragonborn, someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough for me."

Irileth then turned to Vidyan and told her to return to Whiterun with the majority of the militia. "They deserve their rest and praise, but I want you to report back to the jarl. Let him know what happened here today."

As she and a number of the men made their way back to the city, Vidyan spent the time thinking about what just happened. This most recent event was rather disturbing to her. She knew little of what it meant to be dragonborn, but she had heard of it. Most specifically, she knew that the detestable Tiber Septim – goddamned Talos of Atmora – was dragonborn. She knew the tale when Talos shouted apart her people's defenses at Old Hroldan at the start of the Tiber Wars.

Simply being dragonborn would be seen as an affront to her people. Even still, there was something in the back of her mind that was nagging her – something even worse than being tied to the mythos of Talos. _To be dragonborn is a blessing of a god – an aedra_, thought Vidyan. _I cannot remember which god, though. Whoever it is, they are not a part of our pantheon._

Vidyan's thoughts absorbed every ounce of her attention and she failed to notice yet another strange event. Suddenly the men surrounding her were overcome by some strange phenomenon – a loud shout making itself known from far, far off in the distance. Someone capable of projecting his voice for miles had shouted "Dovahkiin" to all of Skyrim. Regardless, Vidyan did not seem to notice the voice, nor did she notice the men around her discussing it.

Back inside the city, Vidyan demanded Odvan to wait for her near the Bannered Mare, which was an inn near the marketplace. Leaving him behind, Vidyan met the jarl's the full court, who were eagerly awaiting the official report from the Western Watchtower. She gave a brief report, deciding to leave out the more supernatural events. This did not seem to satisfy the jarl, who responded:

"I knew that I could count on Irileth, but there must be more to it than that?"

"Well, yes. When it died, its body was engulfed in this golden light. Some of its bones and scales remained, but the body faded away. Then… then the light shot straight towards me and I absorbed some kind of power. Your militia came to believe that I am dragonborn."

"Ah, so it's true. The Greybeards really were summoning you," responded Jarl Balgruuf. "They are monks that specialize in use and mastery of the Thu'um. More specifically, they are Masters of the Way of the Voice. If you truly are Dragonborn, then they can teach you to use your gift."

When Vidyan seemed puzzled by the jarl's response, one of the courtiers spoke up: "Didn't you hear that thundering sound on your way back to Whiterun? That was the voice of the Greybeards, summoning you to High Hrothgar. This hasn't happened in centuries at least. Not since Tiber Septim himself was summoned when he was still Talos of Atmora!"

"Just, stop," exclaimed Vidyan with palm outstretched. With her voice breaking, Vidyan continued. "Just, stop there! What does this… Nord nonsense have to do with me? Talos killed and subjugated my people, who have been fighting for the Reach ever since."

"Don't start, Hrongar. There's no point in defending our traditions at this moment," said the jarl. "Vidyan… Being dragonborn has nothing to do with Nords or any other race. The legends may be more popular here, but it is instead a gift from Akatosh."

As Jarl Balgruuf finished his thought, the color drained from Vidyan's face. _Akatosh_, she thought. _Did he just say Akatosh? The fucking head of the Imperial pantheon? Have the gods simply chosen to toy with me…_

"Whatever happened when you killed that dragon, it revealed something within you, and the Greybeards heard it," continued Jarl Balgruuf. "If they think you're dragonborn, then who are we to argue? You better get up to High Hrothgar immediately, there's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards, it's a tremendous honor."

Vidyan paid no attention to the jarl after his mention of Akatosh, but then he called this curse a _tremendous honor_. "What… what do you mean…" she asked feebly.

"I envy you, you know," said the jarl, ignoring Vidyan. "To climb the 7,000 steps again… I made the pilgrimage once; did you know that? High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place, very disconnected from the troubles of this world. I always wondered if the Greybeards even notice what goes on down here, they've never seemed to care before. No matter, go to High Hrothgar, and learn what the Greybeards can teach you."

"Alright, fine! Fine… just, stop please," stammered Vidyan, desperate for a change in topic. "Okay, look… I killed that dragon and got that tablet for Farengar. At this point, I think that I am due a reward."

The jarl chuckled for a moment before replying: "You've done a great service for me and my city, Dragonborn. By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. This honor denotes you as a hero in Whiterun and grants you military privilege within the city. To be specific, there are two types of Thanes – landholders like the Batte-Borns, and military advisors such as yourself."

The jarl's sudden declaration was a shock to Vidyan. She cared little for the nobility and titles of Nords. She had made her allegiance to the Reach clear before – had she not? Yet, the Jarl of Whiterun Hold was offering her an advisory position on his court. "Are there any duties, or responsibilities that might befall this title?" asked Vidyan.

"Not particularly, given the tasks that the Greybeards are likely to set upon you. And if the legends are true, and you become a master of killing dragons, then the others Holds will require your assistance."

"Thank you, my jarl," replied Vidyan. "It seems that I am needed elsewhere, may I be excused?"

"In one moment. I did promise you a reward before and have decided to upgrade it to being your badge of office." The jarl waved for a female guard cradling a silver war axe to step forward. "This weapon is from my personal armory and I will notify my guards of your new status. The woman presenting your badge is Lydia, I have assigned her to serve as your personal Housecarl. We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, dragonborn."

With his speech completed, the jarl turned to his steward, Proventus Avenicci, to discuss city maintenance. Lydia the Housecarl then guided Vidyan away from the jarl and towards the exit. Vidyan remained quiet at first, as it took her a few moments to fully absorb what just happened.

With Vidyan silent, this woman, the housecarl, spoke: "As the jarl said, my name is Lydia. I have been appointed as your Housecarl. It is an honor to serve you."

Vidyan held up her index finger, giving herself time to think through her response carefully. Jarl Balgruuf seemed to have no qualms with appointing a proud Reachman into his court, but that might not mean he would accept her people's claims to the Reach. And of course, since she planned to revive an ancient hero to retake the Reach, this Housecarl had the potential to be a liability. At the same time, she appeared skilled and could be useful in combat.

"May I ask what a Housecarl does. Please, give specifics."

"A Housecarl is a professional soldier that serves in the retinue of her master," replied Lydia. "My service was voluntary, though the nature of my service can be transferred – as in from jarl to thane. Um, well… I worked as a city guard here in Whiterun until a group of bandits attacked five years ago. I was instrumental in their defeat and offered the promotion."

"And what service would you be doing for me?" asked Vidyan.

"As my Thane, I am sworn to your service. I will guard you, and all you own, with my life. With my skills and training, we should be able to survive against the bandits and other threats that plague Skyrim during this trying time."

"You said that your service was voluntary, but then that you are sworn to me. Clarify, please."

"Ah, yes. As a member of the guard, I fought off any bandits and kept the peace in the city and nearby settlements. It was low-risk compared to job of guarding the jarl and his court. Of course, I was given the chance to turn the offer down – I mean, I was not being forced into service. I chose to serve but am not a servant. Instead, I am a professional soldier under your care. I am sworn to fight alongside you, and protect you with my life, but I do not run errands."


	9. Natives of Karthspire

09 – Natives of Karthspire

Throughout her recent adventures, Vidyan had been wounded rather severely. When she absorbed that dragon's power, many of these wounds were healed but not all. Her pelvis was fractured, and her right side was covered in first-degree burns. Even Jarl Balgruuf admitted that there was no need for her to leave the city until fully restored. For the first two days, she spent most of her time in the Temple of Kynareth, praying to the Goddess of Nature.

Throughout much of her life, she was hardly religious. She knew of her people's teachings, of their pantheon and the lore; but when half of your pantheon is outlawed all throughout Tamriel, you tend not actively worship. She may have called upon the teachings of Malacath (or Malak to the Reachmen) when in combat, but only the Aedric goddesses of Kyne and Dibella were perfectly acceptable in society.

Upon learning of the temple in Whiterun, she dedicated some time to praising the goddess and learning more about the modern Kynareth that was worshipped in Skyrim. While in the temple, the priests even used their training in restoration magic to expedite the healing process for Vidyan. They even tried to teach her the basics of magickal healing, but she simply could not grasp the concepts required. Instead, Vidyan seemed to prefer the arts of alchemy and its demonstrative effects on the mortal body.

A few days into her recovery, she decided to return to Farengar and see what he might be able to teach regarding schools of magic she already knows – destruction and alteration. Odvan cared little for the magickal arts and instead made his way to the Drunken Huntsman, a tavern that is dedicated to hunters and marksmen. That left Vidyan and Lydia to return to Dragonsreach.

Upon entering the court wizard's study, he was of course preoccupied and myopic. It was hard to tell if he even heard the girls enter the room, talking loudly about Lydia's past experiences. Mildly annoyed, Vidyan decided to speak up: "Farengar! I wanted to ask a favor from you."

Farengar immediately looked up from his work but failed to recognize Vidyan for a moment. Expecting this, Vidyan continued, "I know a little magic but with my combative lifestyle, the basic Flames spell is hardly effective. I do not have much time before I need to leave, but could you lend a few of your lower-level spell tomes for my perusal? I will likely return them within the month."

"I am not much of a teacher," responded Farengar. "Especially not when your studies concern the practical application of destruction magic. Instead, my specialties lay within the realm of magical enchantments and the trapping of souls. But… but of course, you asked about spell tomes and not direct study." The court wizard suddenly went quiet as he rifled through the many bookshelves. "Was there any sort of magic, or spell-work that you would like to study first?"

"I have a strong understanding of the basic Flames, but as I said it has little practical use in combat. Furthermore, it might be useful for me to also learn the basics of the other elements."

The court wizard thought for a moment before moving to the far end of the bookshelves and pulled out one nearly pristine but rather thin book. "This covers the theory behind the various elemental magic as well as techniques to concentrate their power. Through concentration, the basic Flames can be turned into a Firebolt. Less coverage, but greater power, I think."

Farengar placed the book on the end of the L-shaped table, where Vidyan left it. _He has expertise in soul trapping_, she thought. _Last I checked, that practice belongs in the School of Mysticism, but is sometimes connected to Conjuration_.

"Could you also lend me a book discussing the basics of conjuration?" While Farengar moved to retrieve such a book, Vidyan removed her bow from her back.

"This is the weapon that I used to kill the dragon. Unlike the arrows of the other guards, my shots actually hurt the beast. I already know that this bow is enchanted – ice magic or what-not – but can you tell me if it was the enchantment or the craftmanship that would have killed the dragon?"

Farengar placed another small book on top of the first and took a look at Vidyan's bow. He grabbed a decent-sized purple crystal and examined the bow through it. A few moments passed in silence before he spoke:

"Yes, this bow is enchanted with powerful frost magic. However, the enchantment was crudely applied. Without its magic restored, the enchantment will likely fade with another few shots. I can provide the soul gems to refill its magic. Even still, I don't recognize any spell-work that would make it easier to have killed the dragon – not unless they are weak to frost magic."

The two of them haggled for a few minutes over the price of the spell tomes and the value of the soul gems that he put on offer. Vidyan spent the night at the inn, studying the tomes and prepared to leave the next day. She had yet to fill Lydia in on the details of their journey, but Vidyan had mentioned that they would make a short trip to the Reach before travelling to High Hrothgar.

Their travels took them passed the Western Watchtower and its ruined village and to the most southwestern road of Whiterun Hold. This road had a major intersection that connected the Reach in the West, Falkreath in the South, the City of Whiterun to the East, and the village of Rorikstead to the North. As thus, the nearby village was a prime target for both merchants and bandits.

The nearby town of Greymoor was home to a proper fortification that defended the villages against these bandits. But according to the locals, the so-called guards defending the castle might as well have been bandits themselves, extorting the villagers. Against Lydia's insistence, the three of them ignored the injustices plaguing the area and continued their journey westward.

Both Vidyan and Odvan knew that Lydia would not fit in among the Forsworn encampments, both her being a Nord and the heavy plate armor she donned. To compensate, Lydia's armor had been stripped down and sold, leaving the her with the bare minimum that the Housecarl would accept. This left her with her steel gauntlets, her plated skirt, and one of her pauldrons. Everything else had been replaced with leather or hide.

Lydia was still overdressed when compared to the native Reachmen, but they applauded Vidyan for somehow forcing a Nord into servitude. Regardless, the three of them journeyed westward, resting at the various Forsworn encampments along the way, until they reached an ancient stone bridge that linked the main road to the island of Karthspire.

The village is home to a large Reachmen encampment that consists of wooden platforms built into riverbanks with bridges spanning across. The southwestern embankment leads to the mountain – the great spire of the Karth River. The village's civil and war-like infrastructure had taken residence in the cave system woven into the mountain.

According to Farengar's map, the northern embankment connects to the Sundered Hills. This embankment is home to Karthspire's hagraven and is thus the village's religious center. Unlike the Briar-Heart and his soldiers, who lived in the caves, the hagraven had taken residence in a small rut behind an ancient Nordic platform. Why she chose not to live atop the platform, Vidyan may never know.

Due to the formation of the village, Vidyan was uncertain whether to gain support for her venture from the Briar-Heart or the hagraven and her shamans. The Briar-Heart might not enjoy the competition that the Red Eagle would represent, but he would have the martial power to ensure Vidyan's success. The shamans would know of the benefit that the hero could bring but might not consider his revival as a realistic possibility. They may see the legend as Vidyan's grandmother did – as a fanciful myth and nothing more.

In the immediate sense, she decided to get to know more about the commonfolk subsisting on the riverbanks. As would be expected, these villagers had little power within the village and survived day-to-day by hunting and fishing. Occasionally, some of them may have chosen to accompany the pillagers raiding the Nord villages. Vidyan was too uncomfortable talking to strangers, and Lydia was mostly avoided by the Reachmen, but Odvan easily gained their trust.

Even though Madanach's escape was almost three months ago, Vidyan's was right that he would not reach out to consolidate power within the Reach. The people of Karthspire heard of his return, but it failed to inspire them. In fact, it did not take long for Odvan to learn about Briar-Heart Corintthac and his dictatorial rule over Karthspire. Furthermore, their Briar-Heart showed little desire to take over the Reach himself.

Thus, Vidyan's desire to revive the Red Eagle was reaffirmed. Their current military leaders were either incompetent or too content with the way things were. All the while, their people ached to fight back – to regain the Reach. With Odvan's help, Vidyan did her best to recruit people to her cause. The more intelligent villagers knew of the Red Eagle and saw the benefit of his revival but were fearful of the power struggle that would likely erupt between the hero and Corintthac.

One woman who worked with the shamans made the point that the shamans would not care for Vidyan's goal either. The local hagraven was more preoccupied with her poisons and other machinations to care about who lead the Forsworn, and the shamans followed her lead. Even still, this woman brought forth a shaman-in-training, a woman named Syndle, who shared Vidyan's ideology.

Syndle saw Odvan for the ignorant bore that he was and focused her attention on Vidyan. "So, you wish to revive Faolan and use him to get back the Reach? Please tell, why we'd need to rely on him?"

"As we stand right now, the Forsworn are a dying people," replied Vidyan. "More and more of us flock to Markarth and Karthwasten to join with the Nords. Odvan's family had long since given up on freeing our people."

"I got it, now get to the point," snapped Syndle.

"You have heard of our king's escape, yes? The King-in-Rags as he is known in Markarth. Madanach has not even attempted to reach out to Karthspire? I wonder if he has even contacted the Blind Cliff encampments? He seems unwilling to take power and bring the fight to the Nords, and the same goes for your Briar-Heart."

"Yes, many of the camps and villages are isolated as we have kept to ourselves these past twenty years," agreed Syndle. "The Lord of Discord would be disappointed in us; in fact, I am surprised that he still blesses the new briar-hearts."

"The raiders and pillagers are still taking the fight to the Nords. Yet, as the tale of the Red Eagle tells, that fight will be unending until we learn to push back with force equal to their power," said Vidyan. "Our people need a hero, who knew what it meant to fight – we need someone like Faolan."

Suddenly, Odvan spoke up: "There is an encampment, or a group to the north, yes? In an area known as the Sundered Towers?"

Finally acknowledging Odvan, Syndle answered him. "Yes, there is an independent tribe of our people to the north. The Sundered Towers was the only encampment that King Madanach never brought to his side twenty years ago. To be honest, I believe even Corintthac fears them."

Taken aback by Syndle's response, Odvan simply looked over at Vidyan in silence. Vidyan thought a moment about Syndle's answer, before replying herself. "Is the tribe simply that dangerous, or are they more backwards than you all would like?"

"What do you mean, backwards?" asked Syndle. Shaking her head, she ignored her own question and continued. "The Reachmen of the Sundered Towers are extremists who rarely listen to reason. And before you say it – yes, I know why you asked about them. The last time anyone knew of Faolan's Fury, it was in the hands of their Briar-Heart."

"Extremist or not, we will need to speak with them," began Odvan. "Even if the location of his tomb is known in Karthspire, the prophecy calls for his sword and a… blood-soaked ritual…" He glanced at Vidyan, "that is what you called it, right?" Continuing, Odvan turned back to Syndle. "Yes, well, we will need his sword, and I am certain that they may desire the return of their hero."

"Unless they have lost the ritual to history, then it is unlikely they will desire his revival," said Vidyan. "It will be up to us to convince them. It won't be easy, but I feel confident that we can accomplish this task." As she finished her sentence, her voice went quiet, betraying her supposed confidence.

"There are eight of us versus their entire tribe. Even if the majority of them cannot fight good, we would be greatly outnumbered if they attacked," said Syndle.

Strangely enraged, Vidyan snapped back, pointing at Lydia: "What's your point – the outsiders and deserters outnumber the Forsworn! If the Molag Bal was disappointed in our leaders, then Malak would be disappointed in you. As the Great Warrior teaches, it is honorable to be slain by a formidable foe, and the Lord of Discord blesses those who defy their opposition."

"I know what the gods demand of us, but that does not mean that we abandon all caution," Syndle replied angrily. Calming herself, "Look, my mother is one of the shamans. If she can get the others to back us, we might be able to force Corntthac's hand."

Before Vidyan could respond, Lydia the Housecarl stepped forward. Addressing her thane: "I won't pretend to know what your end-goal is, but I agree with this woman. If we are to go against an entire tribe, then we would need greater numbers – or at the very least my armor back."

With all eyes on her, Vidyan closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She then nodded in agreement. "While you seek out martial support – support from the Briar-Heart, I will take Odvan, here, and scout them out."

Over a week passed and Vidyan grew ever more restless. As far as she and Odvan could discern, the village was mostly unguarded – easy prey. The only point of defense was the village's namesake – the ancient Nordic towers built into the hills. Even still, Syndle and the other shamans made little headway. None of them wished to broach the subject with Corintthac, and the hagraven continued her work with a lack of concern.

Finally, Vidyan had enough – she was done waiting. There was no guarantee that the seemingly peaceful tribe of the Sundered Towers was likely to attack. It was all likely to just be superstition. With her weapons at the ready, Vidyan pushed past the shamans and made her way to the hagraven. She was at her altar whispering incantations over the torched corpse of a spriggan (woodland spirit).

With the other shamans watching from behind, Vidyan fell to her knees and humbled herself before the hagraven. She started mumbling to herself, screwing up the courage to beg for the feathered hag's blessing. As she spoke, her words became gradually louder, and she gained a confidence in her voice that she had lacked before.

"I apologize that I never learned your name, matron of Karthspire, but I beseech you for your mystical aid and the guidance of the Old Gods. Please, cover me in the vile favors of Namira – teach me to accept my fate, to accept my own mortality. Remind me of the teachings of Lord Hircine – remind me of the predator/prey relationship found amongst all life. I call upon the great Molag Bal himself to bless me and those who would follow me. Bless me so that we may bring the Sundered Towers to their knees if need be!"

Watching the hagraven, it was obvious that their matron had difficulty understanding every word that Vidyan had said. Even still, the hagraven understood the gist of Vidyan's plea. She entered her hut and returned with pouches of ingredients and other trinkets. The hagraven grabbed a handful of beetles and centipedes and crushed them, smearing their guts over Vidyan's skin and whispering yet another incantation.

She then pulled out a bone-necklace and draped it around Vidyan's neck. As a final token, the hagraven pulled out a large, decaying toe – "Giant's toe," she muttered. She dipped the toe in this foul-smelling sludge and placed it in Vidyan's hand. "Go, little nibble, and bring glory – go earn the blessings of the gods."

As the hagraven finished her blessings, she turned back to her altar and continued working on her dead spriggan. Feeling somewhat defiled, Vidyan did her best to hide her disgust and stood up. Gathering her confidence, Vidyan turned back to the shamans and strode past them without saying a single word. She hoped that her actions would speak for her. It was time to call forth those who would join her and then march straight into the Sundered Towers.


	10. The Sundered Towers

10 – The Sundered Towers

By engaging the hagraven in the manner she did, Vidyan had made her intentions clear to the shamans. It was time to move forward – with or without the Briar-Heart, Corintthac. Vidyan shot Syndle a strained glance as she passed her. The few who openly agreed with her, stood beside her, waiting for a response from Vidyan.

Without any real plan, she knew to rely on their teachings and ideals, and not to strategy. Thusly, Vidyan called out to the people of Karthspire in their native tongue and did her best to inspire them to battle.

"_Many… many of you know who I am… and you – you know what I propose… But – but for those who do not, um… my name is Vidyan and I seek to… to revive the ancient hero – to revive Faolan. Eighty seasons have passed since – since we had control over our land. Briefly… we could live as we pleased, and we treated the Nords kindly – more or less._

"_But then the Nords came – came back with their own army. They trampled over us… and killed – murdered those who did not flee… They call us animals… but they are the real monsters! For those who suffer – who have died in vain, it is time that we fight back proper… And for that, we need a hero – we need Faolan!_"

As her speech came to a close, the citizens of Karthspire stood in a strange silence. It was obvious that her words were somewhat lost on them. Likely, the exact words that Vidyan spoke probably translated differently than she thought. After a few moments, one of her supporters yelled out in their tongue: "For Faolan!"

Slowly, many of them started chanting those words, although some still seemed confused. Vidyan took a quick count of her supporters and noticed that she had well over a dozen shouting for the Red Eagle. In the event that the Sundered Towers attacked, this would likely not be enough, but it was still better than Vidyan had expected. After the villagers had worked themselves into a frenzy, called for them to grab their weapons and prepare to meet the Sundered Towers.

As her fighting force dispersed momentarily, Vidyan turned to see Syndle standing awkwardly a few feet away. No longer in the immediate spotlight, Vidyan asked Syndle to give her thoughts on Vidyan's actions. Syndle paused for a moment, before responding:

"I still feel this is too rushed, but… it needs to be done, I guess. We will be hard-pressed to fight back if comes to that, but we can do our best and make the gods proud."

"It was quickly obvious to me that the shamans were not going act with haste, and we were unlikely to ever gain the Briar-Heart's approval. Yet, we both see the necessity of this battle, of fighting to give our people a hero. You said it yourself – it needs to be done."

Syndle's words failed her, but she did nod her head in acknowledgment. With a few more quick exchanges, Vidyan convinced Syndle to join her in speaking with the Sundered Towers. Although they would need to be ready for combat, it would not hurt to bring along a shaman – or at least one in training. With Syndle's knowledge of the gods and our religious practices, she should be able to call upon the tribe's morals and beliefs.

As the frenzied crowd encircled Vidyan once more, it was time to leave – especially once Vidyan noticed that some of the pillagers were leaving Corintthac's cave. If the Briar-Heart had heard of her plea, without any previous knowledge, this could be a problem. Unwilling to confront the Briar-Heart and his men, Vidyan called for her group to leave immediately.

Vidyan lead the group through the northern hills and down the path that Vidyan knew would lead to the Sundered Towers and its tribe. Even though the group looked to her as its leader, it was obvious that Vidyan was far less accustomed to traveling through this terrain. After spending over a month in Falkreath and Whiterun, the Reach seemed entirely foreign to her once more.

Even still, her followers did not seem to notice, or at least acknowledge, her lack of familiarity with the land. They saw her as their leader not because she knew the land, but because she was outspoken and covered in battle-scars. Vidyan was a warrior, and her people tend to follow the strongest and most capable of warriors. Even if they had never seen her try her hand against Corintthac, they knew that seeing her dealing with the other tribe would be sufficient to prove her worth.

After what felt like many hours, Vidyan had lead the group to the hilly outcropping that overlooks the Sundered Towers and its encampments. The tribe was mostly centered on a flat stretch of land overlooking the Karth River valley. The river valley was west of the encampment, and its namesake, the Sundered Towers, were to its east. The flat plains between were covered in tents and coverings made of wood, skin, and bone.

As the group's gaze moved towards the towers, the landscape became more artificial. A series of stone platforms had been constructed by the Ancient Nords, upon which the Sundered Towers were built. Vidyan had surmised that the tribe's leadership was likely holed up in these ancient structures, to which Syndle quickly agreed.

As she looked over the encampments once more, she felt the gaze of her followers shift back to her. They were looking to her for guidance and waited with bated breath. Even Syndle fell silent and waited for Vidyan's orders, but Vidyan hesitated. She was not certain how to respond best. She did not know what to do now that they were here, but she did not wish to let the others down.

Her mind was racing, desperately trying to put together a plan of attack that would not lead everyone's death. She knew that they were outnumbered, but never really appreciated how lop-sided the battle would actually be. If it came to battle, they would likely be slaughtered, especially given the group's obvious lack of skill. Suddenly, Vidyan noticed a ridge overlooking the platforms where they could prepare an ambush.

With a half-assed plan, Vidyan turned to the others. Speaking in their native tongue, she addressed her kin: "_Alright, we will split into two groups… Um, five of us – me, Odvan, Syndle, and two others – will openly walk into the encampment… We will – the goal is to solve this peacefully as we do not want bloodshed. In fact, um, I doubt that Faolan would like us killing off a fighting force… Well, the five of us will walk and try to engage their leaders in peace. The rest of you, led by Lydia the Nord here, will only attack… You will only attack if things go bad down there_."

Doing her best to appear defiant and powerful, Vidyan held her doubts and tried to project confidence, even scowling as needed. As her speech ended, she put on a stoic face to mask her lack of confidence and turned to Lydia. Speaking in modern Cyrodilic, Vidyan described her plan.

"When we go down there, I want you to lead the others to that outcropping over there. As you can see, it overlooks most of the platforms and is near the towers, but not in their line of sight. Station to the others to overlook the scene." Vidyan waved Syndle over before continuing. "Syndle will shoot a blast of magic into the sky if it seems that combat is inevitable. That will be your signal. You may not speak their tongue, but they should do as I commanded and follow your lead in this moment."

"Do they know the signal? If not, how am I to let them know when?" asked Lydia. In response, Vidyan taught her the battle cry that the others were chanting back in Karthspire. Lydia was taught, more or less, to pronounce the phrase 'for Faolan' in the traditional Reach tongue.

After discussing the plan, Lydia sized up the other followers and isolated the two most capable. These two men joined Vidyan, Odvan, and Syndle as they made their way to the base of the hills and into the village proper. The remaining seventeen followers went with Lydia to prepare the ambush. If there were any concerns regarding Vidyan's plan, no one spoke up. Even Lydia seemed willing to go along with this insane plan – possibly because she was not in immediate danger and could easily flee.

It was mid afternoon when the five of them arrived at the encampment. The hot sun was bearing down on them and many of the hunters and foragers had long since returned. It was not long before Vidyan and the others were stopped by a local. The local woman drew her bow and stepped out from the bushes. She spoke in the Reach-tongue, of course.

"_What is your purpose here? Who are you and from where did you come?_" asked the woman.

While everyone faltered at the woman's appearance, Vidyan had spent the last few minutes preparing her response: "_My name is Vidyan of the Blind Cliff caves. You may see them across the river valley. To my right is Odvan, an escapee of Markarth. To my left is Syndle; she and the others come from Karthspire. We come in peace to speak with your leaders._"

No one else said a word as they waited for the local woman to respond. After a few moments, the woman lowered her bow. "_Then come with me, Vidyan of Blind Cliff… the others can come as well, I suppose._"

The group remained silent as the woman led them through the village, past hundreds of tents. It was obvious to the group that this tribe was likely the most populous – likely due to their imposed isolation. As they traveled through the encampment, Vidyan grew ever more uneasy. _If comes to combat, then we will likely have to kill everyone here,_ thought Vidyan._ That is, if we survive long enough…_

Eventually, they were brought to the base of one of the platforms nearest the Towers. With a quick glance around, Vidyan easily identified the outcropping that Lydia had guided the others towards. She hoped that the others were in place in the event that the leaders decided to attack immediately. Steeling herself, Vidyan rehearsed her coming statements once more.

The woman left them at the foot of the platform as she made her way around it. About a minute later, a large, towering figure stepped to the edge of the platform. He was likely six feet in height, with bulging muscles and well-defined abdominal muscles. On his head, he wore the skull of a buck and its magnificent antlers. Based on the wound in his chest, it was obvious that this man was a Briar-Heart.

The Briar-Heart examined the five newcomers intently for a moment. Due to his choice of head-gear, it was impossible to guess how he received them until he spoke. He spoke in the native tongue: "_They say you came in peace, what say you?_"

"_My name is Vidyan,_" she spoke while stepping forward. "_Yes, many of the tribes have … have decided that it is time bring ourselves together and fight back against the Nords… against them properly. It is also a common desire to… to lift the great Faolan from his tomb in Rebel's Cairn. And… and for that we need your help... The last we knew, his sword belonged to your tribe, and his sword is needed in the ritual… Will you help us?_"

"_So, you want my sword, is that it?_" barks the Briar-Heart. "_You claim to come in peace, just to demand our artifact – to demand the weapon any leading Briar-Heart wields?_" The Briar-Heart smirked before asking one last question:_ Do you honestly expect me to comply?_"

"_We were hoping that you would be willing to help… both in the war against – against the Nords, but also by lending your blade to bring back an ancient who knew what it meant to fight back,_" replied Vidyan.

Based on his response, Vidyan's words had just angered the Briar-Heart. "_A hero who knew what it meant to fight back? You want to bring out someone who knows how to fight back?_" He raised his voice with every other word until he was shouting for all to hear. Suddenly, he waved for someone on the platform. Vidyan shot a quick glance at Syndle and nodded. In silence, the two of them prepared their magic.

After a few moments, another Reachman brought forth a sword that Briar-Heart held above his head as he shouted in fury. "_IF YOU WANT THIS SWORD SO BADLY, THEN I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU!_" The sword then erupted in flames as the Briar-Heart jumped from the platform. Without hesitation, Vidyan casted a new spell and conjured a ghostly wolf spirit.

The wolf-spirit manifested at the last moment before Vidyan was forced to dodge the Briar-Heart's attack. She rolled aside and felt a strong wave of heat wash over her. As Vidyan scrambled to her feet, she saw Syndle cast a jet of concentrated frost magic into the sky. Help was coming, but they had an entire village to fight against. She ducked aside of the Briar-Hearts second attack just to walk into any enemy's stone axe.

The weapon dug into her left arm, hitting the bone. However, the stone was not sharp enough to do any major damage. With the fire prepared in her right hand, Vidyan shot a firebolt at the Reachman's face. As the man recoiled in pain, Vidyan turned back to the Briar-Heart and was forced to dodge yet another attack.

Rushing between a few more enemy Reachmen, Vidyan put enough people between her and the Briar-Heart to take a breather. She kicked a few of them to the ground as she drew her own sword. As she turned back to see Odvan fighting against the Briar-Heart, she noticed Syndle had summoned her own wolf-spirit and was fighting alongside Vidyan's summon. Cutting at her enemies' legs, Vidyan made her way back to the Briar-Heart just in time to save Odvan from a lethal blow.

Odvan had been pushed off-balance and the Briar-Heart was swinging the sword down towards Odvan's neck. Vidyan jumped between them and parried the attack, while simultaneously suffering the fire damage. The force of the Briar-Heart's attack pushed Vidyan off-balance and she toppled over Odvan. Vidyan kicked Odvan aside and scrambled to her feet fast enough to avoid being seared alive.

The fighting continued like this for a while as she and Odvan fought against the Briar-Heart, who was more powerful than both of them combined. All-the-while, they had to beat back the other enemy Reachmen who got in the way. Eventually, their support made it to the platform and helped turn the tide for a bit. With Lydia's skill and expertise, she fought her way to the Briar-Heart and used her shield to control his sword.

With Lydia in control, Vidyan and Odvan were able to pull back from the fight and take on the other weaker Reachmen. Although their support evened the odds at first, the entire village had learned of this fight. Reachmen from every encampment were making their way to the Nordic platorms to protect their tribe. Their group of twenty-two fighters were quickly overwhelmed, and the other Karthspire fighters were dropping like flies.

Eventually, the Briar-Heart began fatiguing Lydia, which forced Vidyan to abandon the general battle and return to her original fight. Reinvigorated and with Oakflesh cast, Vidyan rushed back to her Housecarl's side and the two of them together tried to put the Briar-Heart on the defensive.

The problem was, well, the vengeful spirit within the briar heart itself only really knew how to fight offensively. So, the more they pushed the Briar-Heart, the deadlier his attacks became. Before long, Lydia was badly wounded and unable to fight back and Vidyan's flesh-spell had worn off.

The Briar-Heart then buffeted Vidyan aside and went for the kill. He held his sword below his waist and rushed Lydia, ready to swing upwards and rip his flaming sword through her body. In her exhaustion, Vidyan saw her opening and rushed behind the Briar-Heart. She jumped on top of the man and tried to drive her sword through his chest, but that was easier said than done.

As her added weight knocked the Briar-Heart off balance, he tumbled to the ground and Vidyan's sword arm was quickly pinned to ground underneath the hulking man. Screaming in pain, Vidyan reached over with her left hand. Doing her best to concentrate the shock magic, she grabbed hold of the Brar-Heart's neck and sent a shockwave through them both. Maintaining the shock magic, Vidyan called out for her Housecarl. She could see nothing but a flurry of movement that grew ever blurrier.

It was all she could do to stop the Briar-Heart from squirming, as he tried to break free. Strangely, not even shock magic to the neck and brain could kill this man. A few moments stretched to minutes as she called for Lydia's aid. After what felt like an hour, a tall figure stood before them both with a sword outstretched.

This unknown figure held its sword in front of it and thrusted. Vidyan's vision was too blurry to know where the figure attacked, and she was too numb to feel any pain. With her vision fading to black, Vidyan was uncertain whether or not she was dying. The Briar-Heart's body was then shoved aside, and the spell abruptly faded. Although the shock magic was still concentrated in the palm of her hand, it was no longer affecting her.

The figure then stood over them and fought back, protecting them from other enemies. After a few moments, Vidyan's vision began to return and the appearance of Odvan manifested on the figure. Before long, she was able to move and reached for the Briar-Heart's sword – the sword of legend, Faolan's Fury. With two swords in her hands, she tried to stand, but quickly lost her balance.

Odvan quickly took notice of her movement and rushed to her aid. Having been shocked to all Oblivion, Odvan's mere touched sent waves of pain through her body. However, Vidyan would not appear weak waved him aside. She handed him her original sword and kept Faolan's Fury for herself. Both casting the shock magic as well as suffering it herself, Vidyan found her mind frazzled and magicka drained.

Yet, she had just enough magicka left over to channel into the sword and set it ablaze. She knew, with the Briar-Heart killed, that they had just turned the tide on this battle. It took a while for Vidyan's senses to fully return, but that did not stop her from fighting back and slaying anything in her path. The sword's powerful flame enchantment killed anything in her way.

When the effects of the shock magic had dissipated, Vidyan was an unstoppable force. She and her followers continued to fight back for well over an hour as more and more enemy Reachmen fled from the battle. As the sun began to set, the battle was over and Vidyan was victorious. Well over one hundred people had fallen in battle, many by her hand alone.

With the battle over, the group of them reconvened at the base of the first platform. Looking around, it would not appear that they suffered many casualties. At the same time however, she saw many new faces among the crowd. _Well, if you cannot beat them,_ thought Vidyan,_ then you may as well join them!_

Chuckling to herself, Vidyan did her best to recall the faces of any survivors. Aside from the named Reachman – Odvan and Syndle – she recognized only three or four of them. With both her own and Lydia's survival, this means that only eight of the original twenty-two survived the fight. Wanting to ensure their placement, Vidyan spoke in the native tongue:

"_For those of you I know, congratulations on surviving. I am sorry… sorry that there are so few of us. For those of you who turned on your own tribe, while I do thank you for aiding us in battle… Do not mistake that thanks as acceptance. If you're willing to turn on one tribe, you will turn on another._"

Vidyan then walked over to Syndle and tasked her with healing the survivors as best as she can. Vidyan then took Lydia and made her way atop the Briar-Heart's platform. She took a look around the encampment – at the death and carnage that she was ultimately responsible for. Although she was not the instigator of the violence, it would have never happened if she had not come before this tribe.

Although there were an estimated one hundred survivors who fled, around two-thirds of the village lay dead before them. _All of this was a waste of life_, thought Vidyan. _If I had not intervened in their lives, this tribe would have likely survived for many more eras. But now it lays shattered and dead, but I guess that is a sacrifice required of war. Though, that does not mean that I have to like it._

Almost predicting Vidyan's thoughts, Lydia spoke up: "You did what needed to be done. You tried to come in peace, but then something went wrong. They fought back and you survived. As you may know, history is written by the victors. Let's not forget that as dragonborn, you are destined –"

In anger, Vidyan cut Lydia off. "I don't ever want you say the word _dragonborn_ in reference to me ever again. Do you understand, Housecarl?"

"I – I understand, but why?" asked Lydia. "It is a great honor that the gods have bestowed upon you."

"But their not my gods. Being dragonborn ties me a hero who is despised by my people. It is a blessing of a god, who is sits at the head of the Cyrodilic pantheon. Last I checked, Akatosh was an important member of the Nordic pantheon as well. I don't know what it means for me to be dragonborn, but I do know that if any of my people find out – I am dead."

"I did not know. Well, at the very least, I do not speak your language. In fact, I don't think that I've spoken to anyone here or in Karthspire," said Lydia.

"I expected as much. But like my kin, I despise the term and I wish that I could recant this curse and expel it from my body. Damn you, Talos of Atmora – the Breton bastard! Damn you and your pantheon. Damn you, Akatosh – why me?"

"Tell me, do you have any intention of fulfilling your destiny, whatever it may be?"

"I don't know," replied Vidyan. "If nothing else, I will seek to learn more about it. So, I do plan on traveling to… What was that monastery called again?"

"High Hrothgar, at the peak of the Throat of the World. Although you can see the monastery from Whiterun, we will have travel into the Rift to get there."

"Regardless, you will never speak a word of my curse – or as you see it, this blessing – to anyone else. I will tell those that I need to disclose to, but no one else will know. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my thane," replied Lydia.


End file.
